how common is MRI on pets?

[ambu]

Apart from X-ray, there are various more advanced clinical imaging techniques on human (CT, PET, MRI etc). How common are these techniques used on animals?

I would imagine these services would be very costly on a pet, but are these techniques being used more?

[bigdog]

for sure, they are being used a lot more in the last 10 yrs.

Increasing numbers of clinics have them. Those that have them use them a lot and try to keep the prices down, but inevietably they are pretty expensive as

a) the animal needs a general anaesthetic

b) the technology/equipment such as an MRI is very costly to buy and maintain.

Ive not seen any figures on usage, would be interesting to know more...

[BengalCatVN]

I love Mri's, they are so amazing to go and see! I've done a few over the years, think its about 5-7 from my old clinic? Its great from a nursing point of view to chat to the "scan guys" and find out what interesting cases they've seen. I've also felt the "pull" from the machine, holding a small piece of metal.
We have a big lorry come to our place in the evenings, and we take the cases after hours to be scanned (can be a long night if there are several to do) Places like the Royal College and (so i've been told) Stone Lion have built in ones which I bet get plenty of useage!
As has been said, they are not cheap, but they can provide a lot more information than simple xrays. depending on the type of cover you have, the insurance'll pay out for it.
CT scans are now being done, although I've not seen a case as yet.
Might try and see if I can get some figures for usage in my clinics for you.

[Administrator]

the thing about MRI is the cost of the machine-
it costs a few hundred thousand pounds, at the very least. This then means that the cost to do one is high, to pay for the cost of the machine.

Most machines are actually in private use rather than in universities (although that's a generalisation) and so figures for MRI usage seem to be a bit hard to obtain- as private clinics are unlikely to release data of how many MRI cases they are doing, or if they do release it, its not all publicly collated anywhere that I can find easily.
Some machines have shared usage such as mobile MRI machines.

MRI is a very attractive tool to the clinician.
MRI scans provide cross-sectional imaging in any plain, with no superimposition of overlying structures. The soft tissue detail and resolution is extremely good. The image is produced using characteristics of the tissues which are not utilised by any other imaging modality.
While xrays and computed tomography are excellent for the visualization of bones, and ultrasonography is excellent for soft tissues, only magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers the ability to see both osseous bone and soft tissues at the same time with the degree of clarity, contrast, and resolution available with MRI.
Its especially used in veterinary neurology for the diagnosis of diseases of the brain and spine.
Veterinary oncologists love it for the clear visualization of neoplastic conditions in the brain and other areas.
In fact MRI has brought about the discovery or evaluation of a whole spectrum of diseases that previously little was known about. These diseases include caudal occipital malformation syndrome with syringohydromyelia, infarcts of the brain and spinal column, supraspinatus tendinopathy, nerve sheath tumors of virtually any nerve in the body, and many others.
But please let us know if you can get some figures on usage!!

[bigdog]

here is a link to a UK clinic with MRI, meant to be the 'most advanced MRI suite in europe " for pets

[bobkerry]

yeah these tests are now common for pets too. if there is any urgent case or a critical situation then these tests are used in order to diagnose the problem...they are being used since 10 years and are popular too