Animal Emergency & Specialty Center welcomes new addition

 

How do we continue to offer state-of-the-art care? Through building an incredible team of specialists, veterinarians, and staff, constantly learning and training, and adding new and updated technology to our repertoire of diagnostic and treatment tools. Enter our new GE LightSpeed CT scanner!

This CT scanner replaces our current model in Knoxville and offers increased precision and diagnostic capability.

What does a CT scanner do?
A CT scan – which stands for computed tomography scan and is sometimes called a CAT scan – takes computer-processed combinations of many X-ray measurements from different angles to produce cross-sectional (tomographic) images of specific areas of a scanned subject. These angles are called virtual “slices.” Our new Animal Emergency & Specialty Center of Knoxville machine is a 16-slice CT scanner.

Essentially, CT allows our technicians and doctors to see inside your pet without cutting.

How do we use our CT scanner?
A CT scan allows our doctors to better evaluate complex body parts, such as the head, abdomen, joints, and various internal organs. “This machine helps scan different levels of tissue density and produces a more detailed image than a simple X-ray table can,” said Paul Moore, Animal Emergency & Specialty Center of Knoxville’s hospital administrator.

With CT, we evaluate the abdomen and thorax for staging of neoplasia (the presence of an abnormal growth), assess masses pre-surgery, and conduct vascular studies. We also evaluate the skull and cervical spine for nasal disease, thyroid masses, herniated disks, and trauma. We conduct musculoskeletal evaluations and evaluate limb deformities, tumors, and bone fractures. Best of all, a CT scan takes only a couple of minutes, meaning we can quickly evaluate your four-legged family member and form a treatment plan.

“This will obviously help our specialists in their various fields to provide better diagnostics as they are developing treatment plans for our valued clients’ fur babies,” Moore said.