Diagnostic imaging

Portable Radiography

Portable x-ray machines enable us to take radiographs at your yard and for the images to be viewed seconds later on screen.

Radiographs, commonly known as x-rays, are often taken during lameness exams to visualise the bones and joints. Portable digital systems (DR) are mostly used for lower limb examinations and are especially useful if it is difficult or unsafe to travel an injured horse.

If your vet feels that x-rays of the upper limbs, spine or thorax are needed to help with diagnosis they may refer you to our equine hospital. Portable systems are not as powerful as the static ceiling mounted x-ray system at the hospital where we can take better quality images of harder to reach areas.

Portable Ultrasound Scans

Ultrasonography utilises high frequency sound waves to image internal body structures. We have the ability to carry out ultrasound scans on your yard using portable ultrasound machines. 

Ultrasound can be used to obtain images of orthopaedic soft tissue in horses, such as tendons and ligaments, and helps us to establish the severity of any injury and also monitor healing and response to treatment. It is also a useful tool in the evaluation of colic, and for detecting abnormalities in parts of the abdomen, chest & heart, and is used extensively in stud medicine & reproduction.

Portable Endoscopy

An endoscope is an instrument which enables us to look inside the body. Portable endoscopes usually consist of a long flexible tube with a camera/light at the end which transmit pictures back to a computer. They allow us to investigate and diagnose a wide range of upper airway diseases and conditions and enable us to look at parts of the gastrointestinal, reproductive and urinary tracts.

Advanced Diagnostic Imaging

The B&W Equine Referral Hospital offers advanced diagnostic imaging such as Scintigraphy (Bone Scan), MRI and CT.