Pet Digital Radiology

Digital x-rays assist in diagnosing illness & injury.

Digital radiology is the new conventional film x-ray. Digital x-rays allow us to better diagnose and treat sick and injured pets by providing us with high quality imaging results and reducing overall radiation exposure. They can capture digital images of both the body and teeth. 

There are multiple benefits to choosing digital x-ray over conventional x-ray including:

• Images are more accurate and quicker to obtain
• Retakes are seldom required which limits radiation exposure
• Imaging results can be sent to other veterinarians and radiologists with ease
• Records can be stored electronically, so they won’t get damaged or lost

Using digital x-rays lets us provide our patients with superior care and supports our goal of practicing progressive, high-quality medicine.

Barium Series

This procedure is a Contrast Study which means that we use a contrast dye that shows up on x-ray and highlights certain structures. Because some objects don’t show up on xray (plastic, fabric, toys, etc), this can help outline it or show us where the obstruction is as it can’t get past.

What do we do?

Our talented Registered Veterinary Technicians administer barium (the contrast liquid) in the mouth and then we take successive X-rays over the next few hours to watch its progress. The first X-ray is almost immediate to catch the outline of the esophagus while the last one may be hours later as it enters the colon .

When do we use this?
Some common instances for use are: 

1. Finding foreign objects in the GI tract 
2. Diagnosing disorders of the esophagus
3. Finding GI masses 
4. Evaluating GI motility 

How often is this used?

While it can be a very helpful modality and has its place in medicine, it is being replaced in many instances by the increasing availability of more advanced imaging such as ultrasound, CT and MRI scans.

Flip through the photos to see the progression of barium through the gastrointestinal tract:

 

If your pet is experiencing pain and you’re unable to identify the cause, reach out to us at (519) 245-1153.