Diagnostic imaging is a cornerstone of veterinary medicine. Without it, understanding the inner workings of a sick or injured animal becomes challenging, let alone being able to develop an effective treatment plan. However, unlike other diagnostic imaging, sonography or ultrasound imaging lets veterinarians instantly see organs and internal structures more clearly, making this technology integral to patient health and a thriving practice.
Choice Medical Systems, Inc. serves South Pasadena, Florida, and part of what’s on offer are the educational opportunities surrounding ultrasound essentials. With comprehensive training courses and a selection of top-notch ultrasound equipment available, it’s a great way for local veterinary professionals to learn how to accurately diagnose and treat their patients.
Below, the Choice Medical Systems, Inc. team explains the basics for veterinary practices that could benefit from ultrasound upskilling.
The Right Ultrasound Equipment Implementation for Your Veterinary Practice
There’s no doubt that ultrasound’s powerful imaging tools help veterinarians come to a non-invasive diagnosis that would otherwise be difficult. It sees what X-rays cannot, such as fluid buildups and intra-organ growths. It’s also quick and won’t give animals any side effects.
However, to successfully implement ultrasound technology into your veterinary practice days, it’s best to have an active plan to regularly use the equipment. You’ll need to use measurable goals with your staff to ensure the frequent use of ultrasound technology. That way, you can take full advantage of its capabilities to enhance your practice.
As a start, why not ensure that all your personnel complete different levels of veterinary ultrasound training and then take refresher courses? The more comfortable everybody gets with using the equipment, the more often they’ll produce accurate diagnostics.
Another way to incorporate ultrasound usage in veterinary medicine is via missed opportunity scans. Examples include FAST scans (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma) for emergencies and ultrasound-guided cystocentesis for detecting internal masses.
Common Ultrasound Uses for Veterinarians
With reliable ultrasound equipment at your practice, you can save precious time on diagnosing animal ailments. Ultrasound technology is also a relatively inexpensive way to contribute to various services and procedures, such as:
- Fluid checks or extractions
- Biopsies
- Echocardiograms
- Bladder and kidney stone detection
Basic diagnostic scanning can help you avoid a preventable misdiagnosis. More importantly, it ensures safe results that pet families can trust and that always reflects well on you as a medical professional. These other benefits of sonography for veterinary medicine may also sway your decision about using ultrasound:
#1 Support for Lab Test Results
Laboratory results can aid in diagnosing the condition of your patients, but abnormal results will often require additional testing to pinpoint things. So, with an ultrasound, you can quickly confirm or rule out various concerns.
For example, an abdominal ultrasound provides more details in soft tissue images. That means you have a better chance of spotting abnormalities, which helps confirm or question lab results.
#2 Cardiac Assessments for Dental Procedures
Let’s say that you’re sedating an animal to perform dental work. Typically, you’ll have to do some blood work first to ensure safe and effective anesthesia.
However, sedation could lead to serious complications in older, sicker animals. Using an ultrasound to do an echocardiogram before dental work is a great alternative.
#3 System Focused Scans
Veterinarians are aware that full abdominal ultrasounds can take up to 45 minutes to complete. However, doing a complete abdominal scan is sometimes necessary, especially to understand what’s going on with an animal’s soft tissues when you can’t pinpoint a problem area.
However, the beauty of this technology is that it also allows for quick system-focused scans that take roughly 15 minutes. If you have an idea of where the problem lies (due to the patient’s symptoms), ultrasound saves time.
#4 Heart Murmur Assessments
For pets with heart conditions like murmurs, having a safe, non-invasive way to assess the condition is vital to its management and treatment. Stethoscope evaluations will help you hear the murmur, but an ultrasound scan of the heart will provide real-time imaging for accurate information to inform your treatment plan.
It’s also worth noting that echocardiograms at a veterinary clinic are usually more affordable for families than going to a cardiologist. This service makes your practice more appealing to pet owners, which can translate into additional revenue for your business.
Ultrasound Essentials: Veterinary Ultrasound Training
Successfully expanding your veterinary practice’s services and specialities to incorporate ultrasound technology requires ongoing training. Which technicians or other staff will use the equipment? They need training corresponding to their skill level: beginner, intermediate, or advanced.
Refreshers and full courses help professionals continue learning the following and more:
- Patient care skills
- Terminology
- How to decipher and improve images
- Ultrasound principles
At first, it may take some time and effort for veterinarians to fully understand ultrasound essentials and become comfortable using the technology in their clinics and hospitals. When exploring different ultrasound-related courses, consider the credentials and skills of the instructors.
You should also pay attention to how much time you expect to spend scanning live animals in a lab during instructor-led courses. Regular chances to practice become crucial in honing your ultrasound skills in veterinary medicine. Combining technical education with practical hands-on experience in scanning various organs makes all the difference.
As a medical professional who’s going to help real patients, you need to feel confident producing a real diagnosis in a practice setting before achieving proficiency in diagnostic imaging. Your training should include a supportive environment with trained doctors or technicians.
Embrace Veterinary Imaging Technology for Your Practice
Choice Medical Systems, Inc. has more than three decades of experience as a South Pasadena, Florida, veterinary ultrasound supplier. We specialize in selling new and used ultrasound equipment from top brands like Samsung, E.I. Medical, and Toshiba. The team also understands that quality equipment underpins correctly diagnosing and treating your patients, and isn’t that the entire point of practicing medicine?
Besides pairing veterinarians with the ideal piece of ultrasound equipment, Choice Medical Systems, Inc. offers training options and preventative maintenance on veterinary ultrasound essentials. For more information about veterinary imaging technology or training for veterinarians, call (727) 592-5668 today or fill out our contact form.
