CT scanner for Massey
BY JILL GALLOWAY
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Massey University is home to a state-of- the-art CT scanner, which will be used to diagnose sick animals and pinpoint leaner meat animals.
It is exactly the same as a human CT scanner found in hospitals and radiology clinics.
Radiologist Mark Owen said it was in a specially built room at the veterinary clinic and had been operating about one month.
He said on order, but still to arrive, was a special table that took large animals such as horses, whales and cattle.
At the moment, Dr Owen said, the CT scanner was being used for diagnosis of dogs, cats and birds.
"It is the same size as a human CT scanner and has a human table that goes into it. So we are limited by what we can fit through it. We are not be able to fit a whole horse. But we can put a horse's head or feet through. They are the main areas of disease in a horse that need checking," he said.
The CT scanner was installed by the manufacturer, Phillips. But the staff were all trained using CT or other imaging systems before the machine's arrival, he said.
Nicki Moffat said she trained in a hospital before coming to Massey. She is one of three specialised staff who take the scans.
They are then interpreted by radiologists Dr Owen and Angela Hartman.
How it works
CT uses x-rays, but rather than producing a two-dimensional image such as an x-ray negative, the x-ray tube spins, allowing the production, on a powerful computer, of slices of the patient, which can be built up to form a three- dimensional picture.
There is one other CT scanner for animal use, in AgResearch's Invermay campus in the South Island.
Other human scanners have been used after-hours for animal scans.
"But this would be the first and only veterinary-dedicated CT scanner in the country," Dr Owen said.
Lean Meat
Radiologists and animal health lecturers say they are excited about how the scanner can be used to investigate lean muscle thickness in sheep, driven by consumer demand for leaner meat.
Massey University will do that for Landcorp and other sheep breeders who want such a service.
Professor of Animal Science, Hugh Blair, said leaner animals had been selected over time. But it had been a challenge to animal breeders as it was difficult to estimate body fatness in a live animal.
Funding
Radiologist Angela Hartman, who prepared the business case for the scanner, said Massey had paid for the scanner and specialist building.
"It costs about $500 for a dog for a CT scan. That's for the scan, and anesthetic or surgery and a consult would be on top of that."
But, she said, the amount was a lot less than similar countries where a simple scan would cost about $1000.
"We are trying to keep it affordable here. Rather than have a few people at an expensive rate, we'd rather have it busy and more affordable," Dr Hartman said.
Students are benefiting from the new machine as well. "There are a number of students on imaging rotations who spend a lot of time here, but also surgical, medical and anaesthesia students come in to supervise the cases they are working on," Dr Hartman said.
- © Fairfax NZ News
