New advances in ultrasound and its application to veterinary imaging: a response to ECR 2011

New advances in ultrasound and its application to veterinary imaging: a response to ECR 2011

This year's (March 2011) ECR in Vienna saw ultrasound become the next medical imaging medium to join the image fusion craze.

Image fusion is the integration of real-time ultrasound images with those obtained through CT

and MRI. Already very popular in the world of radiology, image fusion has rarely be applied in ultrasound, given the practical difficulties involved in both preparation and practice.

This technology was even further from the world of veterinary ultrasound, as conventional

methods have required that patients lie absolutely still - clearly not possible in the veterinary ultrasound world without the use of heavy sedation, which would not be desirable in pure diagnostic or pregnancy scans.

New technologies developed by Siemen's, however, means that both scanning ease and speed are now significantly increased. These technological advances are in large part drawn from developments made in the computer gaming industry, which increase data processing speeds and enhance image quality.

It is highly likely that image fusion will make significant inroads into the human ultrasound market* within the next few years, becoming commonplace by 2015.

* For more information on how this will filter down to the veterinary market, please see the Vet Image Solutions news blog.

Another feature of ECR were the ever-increasing advances of 3D/4D imaging technologies. Again due to recent breakthroughs in the gaming and 3D film/video worlds, 3D ultrasound imaging is set to improve diagnostic confidence and become standard in areas beyond the fields of obstetrics and gynacology.

3D imaging as standard is, again, still a long way off for veterinary use; however, some more advanced systems on the market (such as the SonoScape S8v) do offer this feature to vets as an extra option.

This year's ECR Radiology Conference in Vienna served as a showcase for many exciting advances in the field of ultrasound. While their relevance to veterinary imaging went largely unmentioned by companies such as Siemens, Philips and GE, it is important to recognise the filter-down effect of these technologies, and even the potential customisation and perfection of these for specific veterinary applications by companies like SonoScape and their authorised distributors (such as Vet Image Solutions represented at this year's conference by Mr Boyd).

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