KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) – Veterinarians hope an innovative type of CT scan can advance medical care for horses and possibly be adapted for humans, eliminating the need for people to lie still inside a tube.
Robotic CT at the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school allows a horse to remain awake and standing as scanners on two mechanical arms move around it. The resulting high-quality images, including some in 3D, for the first time offer detailed anatomical views of the animal in its normal, upright state.
That’s a huge difference from the standard CT for a horse, which requires administering anesthesia, placing the animal on its side and maneuvering a scanning unit around the affected area. Not all body parts fit in the machines.
Robotic CT “is much less stressful,” said Dr. Barbara Dallap Schaer, medical director of Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center. “It’s a pretty athletic event for horses to recover from general anesthesia.”
The New York-based company 4DDI created the Equimagine system with components from robot manufacturer ABB. First unveiled at Penn last spring, 4DDI now has orders for more than a dozen units at equine facilities around the world, according to CEO Yiorgos Papaioannou.