Case Study: Dr. Alessandro Centinaio and Clinica della Brughiera, Italy, with Agfa DR and CR

Dr. Alessandro Centinaio, an equine orthopedic specialist and owner of Clinica della Brughiera in Cardano al Campo, Italy, worked for the Italian federation for 12 years and has been team veterinarian at three Olympic Games and three World Equestrian Games. He uses Agfa DR and CR systems at his clinic and in his two Mobile Clinics at Longines Global Champions Tour events.

Highlights

• About 90% of images in mobile work are taken with DR, almost instantly and without the need to sedate the horse
• DR reduced the time for a full set of 24 pre-purchase images from 1 hour to 20 minutes
• For an injured horse in the field that should not be moved, CR with a mobile generator is the better choice
• He says he has never received feedback about poor quality of Agfa DR or CR images
• MUSICA processing shows the borders of structures more naturally and without artefacts
• The most important image is the navicular bone, where early detection of navicular syndrome is very important

Description

About 30 years ago Dr. Centinaio came up with the idea of a mobile horse ambulance, which led to the creation of the Horse Ambulance Group, offering 24-hour emergency services, and of the Mobile Clinic for services at competitions. The Mobile Clinics are equipped with a blood laboratory, ultrasound and Agfa X-ray systems. He had also been selected as one of the three official veterinarians for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

According to him, image quality does not depend on hardware alone: the monitor, the plates and especially the processing software play a key role. Close cooperation with Agfa and the company's attention to his ideas are cited as main reasons for his loyalty.

Solutions used

• Mobile DR based on the DX-D 45C, 10 x 12" (24 x 30 cm), with cesium iodide detector, AED and wireless image transfer
• Notebook with MUSICA workstation software and a rugged carrying case
• CR 15-X digitizer: a compact, economical CR solution, used with a mobile generator
• MUSICA processing dedicated to large animals, with a clear view even through the thick muscle mass of horses