Case Study: Ghent University, Belgium, Equine CR Imaging with Agfa

From September 2013, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University (UGhent) worked with Agfa HealthCare to test and compare the diagnostic quality of two CR solutions, the CR 30-Xm and the CR 12-X, over an 18-month period. The faculty's imaging department images around 1500 horses a year.

Highlights

• Both systems delivered similar resolution when imaging horses' legs
• Plug and play installation, fully set up in half a day, with very little training needed
• According to Prof. Dr. Jimmy Saunders, MUSICA processing, unlike most software on the market, has been adapted to veterinary needs
• For horses, CR is preferred over DR because the risk of equipment damage is high and replacing a CR phosphor plate is much cheaper than a DR detector
• About 90% of equine imaging is orthopedic (legs) and 10% is thorax, teeth and sinuses

Description

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University is the only university offering a veterinary degree in Flanders and has 1400 students. Its clinic offers a full range of services for small animals, horses and farm animals, with radiography, ultrasound, CT, MRI and, in some cases, nuclear medicine.

Agfa HealthCare collaborates with a panel of about 50 veterinarians worldwide to improve image quality and dedicated veterinary solutions.

Solutions used

• CR 30-Xm: a high-volume, versatile digitizer suited to veterinary and veterinary dental use, reading plates at 10 pixels/mm for all sizes
• CR 12-X: an economical tabletop solution with adjustable speed and resolution, which can be installed in cars, vans and trucks
• MUSICA processing: automatic image optimization for every body part, size and animal type, without intervention by the veterinarian