Oakwood Veterinary Referrals unveils new MRI scanner

Oakwood Veterinary Referrals now boasts its own permanent on-site MRI scanner thanks to investment from VetPartners.

It means that the specialist-led centre, at Willow Veterinary Hospital in Hartford, will be able to assess poorly pets more quickly, now able to take high-resolution images of pets of all sizes without delay.

Orthopaedic and spinal surgery specialist Charlie Sale, who leads leads the team of clinicians at Oakwood Referrals, said: “This is a significant milestone for Oakwood Referrals which celebrates its 25th anniversary next year and we are very grateful to VetPartners for their investment support."

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Mr Sale added: “Having the MRI scanner permanently on site improves our service to the vets who refer patients to us. Pets will benefit because there will be more availability of appointments so they will be seen and have an MRI scan quickly.

“Not every case can wait a few days for a scan. Having the availability of the MRI scanner all the time improves our service enormously as it means we can tailor the investigation and management of a case to the individual patient’s requirements much better than only having a visiting MRI.

“We always perform a clinical assessment first to ensure the provisional diagnosis is correct, and we need to know where to scan. Once we have acquired the images, we can decide what form of management is best.”

Orthopaedic and spinal surgery specialist Charlie Sale, radiographer Ian Elliott and administration assistant Jacqui Dixon with Ruby outside the trailer housing the permanent on-site MRI scanner at Oakwood Veterinary Referrals (Image: Oakwood Veterinary Referrals)

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The GE Sigma 1.5 Tesla highfield MRI scanner will primarily be used to for diagnosis of referred cases with neurological, orthopaedic, soft tissue, and internal medicine issues.

Highfield scanners are said to produce higher resolution images than lowfield ones and reduce the time taken to acquire images.

Previously, the centre had access to a scanner which visited each week.

However, now with their own scanner they will be able to reduce waiting times for pet owners.

Alongside the new scanner, Oakwood Referrals has also taken on two radiographers.

Orthopaedic and spinal surgery specialist Charlie Sale, radiographer Ian Elliott and Ruby with the MRI scanner (Image: Oakwood Veterinary Referrals)