MRI can typically be scheduled within 24 to 48 hours of your consultation. Laboratory tests and radiographs may be necessary prior to sending your pet to the MRI Center and those can be performed at the time of your consultation. Please be aware that MRIs do require anesthesia. For this reason, you should be sure to fast your pet after 10pm the night before the procedure. Water is allowed. UVS offers transportation service to Raleigh for your pet's MRI. We will explain this option to you at your consultation.
Information for referring veterinarians.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a technique that uses a magnet and computers to produce three-dimensional images of the body in a similar manner to CT scanning. Unlike CT, however, MRI depends on the magnetism of body tissues rather than x-rays. A pet undergoing MRI is placed on a moveable table that passes through a donut shaped magnet. By moving the pet within the scanner, doctors can obtain a series of parallel images in multiple planes called slices. With computers, we can then apply algorithms to highlight certain tissues.
As in CT scanning, we can analyze the series of slices to understand the three-dimensional structure of the body. Occasionally, we will give an injection of a substance called a contrast agent to enhance the difference between tissues.
MRI and CT are complementary tools. When evaluating certain tissues, such as bone, CT will give us more valuable information, whereas with other tissues, such as brain, MRI will give us better detail.
Upstate Veterinary Specialists has partnered with Iams Pet Imaging Center located on the campus of North Carolina State University to be able to provide the best in imaging at a reasonable cost. This facility, which opened in the fall of 2004, is one of three in the country where the Iams Company has installed a state of the art MRI just for pets. This system is of a higher caliber than those seen in many human facilities. Once we have scheduled the MRI scan, owners can bring their pets to Raleigh themselves, or UVS will transport them in our purpose-designed “MRI-Mobile”. The MRI images are transferred to our computers here in Greenville within minutes of acquisition using a technology called telemedicine. A board-certified radiologist at North Carolina State University also evaluates them and a written report on the findings is provided to us.
For further information, you may want to visit iamspetimaging.com
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