Aug 22
Love0

The In’s and Out’s of X-Ray Technique and Radiation Dose in the Digital World

By Digital Radiography

Every Digital Radiography (DR) company provides a technique chart with their panels. These x-ray prescriptions have evolved over time from the days of film and as DR panels have evolved to be more sensitive. Most likely, the DR company has spent a good bit of time testing and optimizing these techniques to provide the best image quality for their panels. But what ARE these knobs (kVp and mAs) and what do they DO to your image quality for a variety of species and sized patients? And what are the implications on patient dose, personnel dose, and panel dose?

• X-rays, and How They Are Produced
• Turning the Knobs: kVp and mAs
• Dose to Patients and Staff
• DR Panel Sensitivity

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Aug 08
Love1

What to Look for in a Veterinary DR System: The Top 8 Questions to Ask

By Digital Radiography

No veterinarian wants to spend $60,000 or more on a digital radiography (DR) system just to find out later that they overpaid for underperformance. In the same vein, you wouldn’t want to purchase a system for $15,000 or $20,000 only to discover that it uses outdated technology and will need to be replaced in three to five years.

The secret to getting the most value and highest returns from your DR system is to view the purchase as a long-term investment. Don’t assume that if it works the first year, it will work in the third or fourth year. What you need to look for is product quality and image quality.

Below are a few questions you should ask when evaluating a veterinary DR system:

• Can I See a Live Demo of the DR Unit on a Very Small Animal and a Large Animal?
• Can You Put Me in Touch with Veterinarians Who Use This DR System?
• How Much Training Is Required? Can a New Tech Learn How to Use the DR Quickly?
• How Long Has the Distributor Been Working with the Plate Manufacturer?
• How Easy Is It to Share the X-Rays with Radiologists?
• How Easy Is It to Share the X-Rays with Clients?
• Who Manufactured the Panel?
• Are the Scintillators Made of Cesium or Gadox?

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Jul 31
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gads vs cesium

The Scintillator Question: Gadox vs Cesium

By Digital Radiography

With the steadily increasing number of flat panel digital x-ray detector suppliers in the veterinary space, a lot of the “tech” talk is being watered down into “sales” talk and the true differences in technology are being skewed. With that in mind, this article is dedicated to deciphering one of the principal distinctions in flat panel hardware: scintillator materials. Here we will discuss the details of:

• X-ray absorption
• Implications in radiation dose
• Manufacturing
• Cost

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Jul 10
Love0

DR Flat Panels – Which Side is Up?

By Digital Radiography

Within the subset of indirect DR systems there has been a very recent split in fundamental architecture. Fujifilm has brought a major change to the market with their Irradiation-Side Sampling (ISS) architecture. Here we will discuss the fundamental differences as it pertains to:

• Scintillator Placement
• X-Ray Absorption Location
• Artifacts
• Hardware vs. Software

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Jun 18
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Common Problems with Veterinary Digital Radiography Systems and How to Avoid Them

By Digital Radiography

As one of your practice’s most expensive capital investments, your digital radiography (DR) unit should be a consistent source of revenue long after you’ve made the purchase. But there are a many factors to consider when buying a DR system, and overlooking just one of them could wipe out your return on investment, not to mention negatively affect your patient care.

You may already know that the detector panel is the most expensive component of a DR system, and a low-quality panel may produce distorted images and be unreliable. But beyond the panel, the potential day-to-day pitfalls present the highest risk to impeding daily workflow. The most common problems with DR relate to:

• Technical Support
• Compatibility with existing practice management software
• Ease of Use
• Inconsistencies across patients of various species and size
• Automatic Updates

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Jun 12
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A Feasible, Reliable Addition to the Equine Veterinary Practice

By Regenerative Laser Therapy

Equine veterinarians are increasingly mobile these days, and not only with respect to their practice as a whole, but in their need to move quickly from horse-to-horse with their equipment. But a veterinarian’s time is money, and so whatever the equipment, it needs to be effective, easy-to-use, and portable. And what if the techs could do it instead? This article will reveal Regenerative Laser Therapy (RLT) as a viable option in the clinic, on the go, or at a show.

• Conditions to Benefit
• Categorizing Conditions
• Price Structure: Packages and Bundles
• Empowering Technicians

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May 20
Love0

A Comparison of Regenerative Medicine in Equine Veterinary Practice

By Regenerative Laser Therapy

Therapeutics in equine veterinary practice have grown increasingly popular over the last couple years, especially with respect to Regenerative Medicine (RM). Within this subset of tools there is a fairly wide variety of interventions with several degrees of invasiveness, techniques, and effectiveness. In an attempt to better understand the current state of the market Sound commissioned a third-party survey to gauge the following aspects of several currently employed modalities:

• Degree of Integration
• Difficulty/Ease of Logistical Implementation
• Level of Clinical Efficacy
• Financial Success of Incorporation

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May 07
Love0

Regenerative vs Therapeutic: a Laser is a Laser, right?

By Regenerative Laser Therapy

In the equine veterinary market, where the pathologies are deep-seated, recovery times are longer and patients are more expensive, there is a lot of pressure to fix them quicker. Within the laser market there are several claims at quick-fix solutions, but these systems have a wide variety of parameters and mechanisms. In this article we’ll dive into the main differences…

• Therapeutic Stimulation
• Regenerative Healing
• The Clinical Difference, and
• The Threshold Between the Two

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Apr 18
Love0

Regenerative Laser as a Proven Clinical Tool

By Regenerative Laser Therapy

Regenerative Laser is a relatively new tool to an equine veterinarian’s therapeutic arsenal. But then again, so is most of what is now called Regenerative Medicine. Being new, this technology is (and should be) subject to some extra scrutiny, especially as it is trying to permeate in this unregulated, wild-west that is the veterinary world. Good news is that Sound is dedicated to not only being on the forefront of technology, but also doing so responsibly, with evidence to support its decisions. In this article you’ll get a glimpse of three levels of evidence, all of which are necessary, but none of which should be presented without the other.

• Anecdotal Testimonials
• Documented Case Reports
• Double-blinded Study Results

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