Case Study: AlmaVet Clinic, Finland, with Agfa DR Retrofit

AlmaVet in Jyväskylä, Finland, treats 20 to 30 small animals a day, mainly dogs and cats and occasional exotics, and offers general care, dentistry, endoscopy, laboratory, X-ray and ultrasound services. The clinic, which previously used Agfa CR, installed the Agfa DR Retrofit solution on a trial basis in 2018 and made it permanent shortly afterwards.

Highlights

• Noticeably more contrast and detail in thoracic and abdominal images with DR
• Accurate puppy counts in pregnant dogs, even with more than seven puppies
• Fast image acquisition, and only one nurse needed for imaging thanks to the workstation in the X-ray room
• Lower radiation dose and less need for sedation, because fewer images are taken and faster
• MUSICA processing delivers a suitable image every time without manual adjustment

Description

A twelve-year-old cocker spaniel with urinary stones was referred to the clinic. The CR images from the previous clinic did not show whether there was one large stone or several small ones. The DR images made it possible to detect and measure the stones and showed that there were many small stones. Based on this, the less invasive urohydropropulsion procedure was chosen instead of surgery. It took 5 minutes instead of 1 hour of surgery, required less anesthesia and allowed faster recovery.

The solution was supplied through Imaqen, the authorized Agfa distributor in Finland.

Solutions used

• DR Retrofit with a digital DR detector: high DQE and optimized pixel size for low-dose exams, fewer retakes, and easy cleaning and disinfection
• MUSICA processing: excellent contrast and consistent quality, adapted for small and large animals, with parameters applied automatically