Hallmarq Standing Equine MRI Machine Reduces Risk to Horses
Company's
patented standing equine MRI machine eliminates need for general anesthesia
ACTON,
Mass. (May 29, 2013) - Obtaining a diagnosis in a lame horse today is less
complicated than ever before, thanks to the technologically advanced standing
equine MRI system from Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging. The system allows horses to
stand for scans of the foot and lower leg instead of undergoing general
anesthesia for the same scans.
The
horse is simply walked into the machine. Because the Hallmarq standing equine
MRI system eliminates the need for general anesthesia, which can lead to death
in almost one in 100 healthy horses1, the system is much safer than traditional MRIs.
"Death
from anesthesia is rare, but it does happen," says Dan Brown, BVSc, MRCVS,
business development director at Hallmarq. "If you have a horse that needs
multiple scans, you are taking that risk each time a scan is required. By using
the standing equine MRI, you remove that chance. In addition, putting a horse
under anesthesia can also result in injury, as horses can be disoriented or
unsteady when they wake and can injure themselves."
Veterinarians
order MRIs for a number of reasons, including detection or management of an
injury and identifying disease processes in the tissues or joints. They are
particularly useful when the location of the lameness is known and other
methods, such as radiographs and ultrasounds, have failed to identify the
problem. The standing MRI is proven to provide a diagnosis in more than 90
percent of cases, and it is safer and often more cost-effective than a
conventional "down" (anesthetized) MRI.
"MRI
images closely reflect the true anatomy; X-rays allow us to visualize bones and
ultrasounds show only soft tissue," says Brown. "MRIs help provide a more
accurate diagnosis, and our standing equine MRI has proven to offer comparable
diagnostic ability to other MRI systems available."
Wesley
Sutter, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS, Lexington Equine Surgery & Sports
Medicine, a specialist in equine orthopedic surgery and sports medicine,
recently installed the equine standing MRI machine in his practice to provide
clients a better option.
"Hallmarq
is driving innovation in the equine veterinary field," says Sutter. "Their
standing MRI machine allows us the ability to clearly determine what type of
injury the horse has in the least invasive way. It's simply safer for the
horse."
Hallmarq
manufactures its standing equine MRI machine in Guildford, United Kingdom, and
has offered the product in the United States since 2004.
"Our
goal is to continue to expand our reach so we can provide more practitioners
and horse owners the option of standing equine MRI," says Brown. "It provides
the same quality scans as a traditional MRI but it is easy on the veterinarian,
the owner and more importantly, the horse."
To find out more about Hallmarq or to locate a standing
equine MRI system near you, visit www.hallmarq.net.
About
Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging
As
the sole global manufacturer of MRI systems for the standing, sedated equine
and with more than 35,000 anesthesia-free exams on record, Hallmarq Veterinary
Imaging is the pioneer of safer MRI diagnostics. The Hallmarq team has decades
of experience in the design and manufacture of clinical, research and
industrial MRI systems for a range of applications globally. From its
beginnings in 2003, Hallmarq's mission has been to improve the safety, accuracy
and cost-effectiveness of equine MRIs, while making them affordable and
profitable to key equine veterinary clinics worldwide.
References:
1.
Johnston G.M., Taylor P.M., Holmes M.A. and Wood J.L.N.
(1995) Confidential enquiry of perioperative equine fatalities (CEPEF):
preliminary results. Equine vet J 27 193-200
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