Diagnostic Tools

Our "Tech Area" is a work in progress. Lot's of our "Doctor Toys" are kept there. We are only starting to get them organized. We need a new surgical table and anesthetic machine to make this area more easily usable.

Most veterinarians have some sort of incubator but we still love ours. We have two and one is left on at all times to keep our fluids supply at body temperature. The other one is a back up and we use is more often as an oxygen cage for smaller patients. For larger animals we usually use intranasal oxygen.

We occasionaly use the "tech area" for endoscopy but usually that is done in the surgery area. The blood pressure monitor is actually used on US more than on animals since it is poorly suited for small animals. For dogs and cat we usually use the doppler flow meter and a manual cuff

The operating microscope is a monster but it CAN do the job. As we understand it was a $60,000 unit when it was purchased. The optics are fantastic and it allows a Zoom veiw of itsie bitsie things that you just can't see any other way. There are times when it's just too much of a pain in the neck to get it where we want it but for certain proceedures there is no subsitute for great illumination and magnification. This image taken through the operating scop shows the pit left on a cornea after "digging" out a splinter that had ben in place for several days. Without magnification it simply would not have been possible.

One of the other new toys was Mary's new digital camera. I cut the image size to less than 7 % of maximum resolution on this shot of a diffuse ulcer in a dog with uveitis but I can still see the diffuse margins on this photo. I'm looking forward to learning to save images for client and for the record. This animal came back in two days later (today) and I could compare the size of the ulcer directly. Now just because it seems clear that my treatment isn't working doesn't mean that the TOOL isn't working!

Another major purchase in late 1997 was a new X-ray machine. This is one of the few machines we have ever purchased NEW and were thrilled to have upgraded our capabilities. Now it almos seems obsolete as many facilities are switching to digital radiology. I'm afraid we're a while away from being able to afford that change. We would love to have ultrasound available. That's something we have had on our wish book for 10 years.

We use the computer in the hospital as a business tool but also as a diagnostic tool. There are 9 computers located throughout the hospital that are all connected to the network and allow contact with treatment spreadsheets to reduce miscalculations of dose, allow the use of the digital camera for diagnostic purposes, allow access to the intranet, access our laboratory rusults, look up data searches, etc., etc., etc. It's not that we are more sophisticated than average but rather that I grew up with veterinary medicine using the computer and it's "how I do things". My employees are perhaps less enthusiastic about the use of computers in our practice than I am but they have become used to them despite their protests.

A view of one of the endoscopes through one of the endoscopes. We have 4 flexible scopes and several rigit scopes. However, even though we are a little over blessed with endoscopes not all of them work as well as we might wish. This 'un works pretty good and came with all of the accessories.