The Best Method Available for the early detection of
musculo-skeletal and neurological injuries.
Inevitably, minor injuries occur with horses and may
lead to more permanent damage
if they are ignored or not identified and treated
appropriately.
Unfortunately for the horse, some injuries can go
undiagnosed or are difficult to identify with
current methods of examination.
An advantage with DITI is the ability to quickly and
easily image the whole horse. Multiple injuries,
stress sites or referred pain syndromes are often
seen in scans which can very often indicate the
cause as well as the symptoms of a problem.
Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (D.I.T.I.)
is filling the gap in Equine diagnosis.
Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI)
is an advanced diagnostic technique that
is now making an impact on veterinary
medicine.
If you have made substantial investments
in time, money, effort and devotion in
your horse, your goal will be to have a
pain free, happy horse, performing to
the best of his athletic ability. Having
DITI available as an assessment tool is
the next best thing to having a horse
who can tell you exactly where it hurts!
Unlike most diagnostic tests D.I.T.I. is
non-invasive and there are no risks or
side effects. Images, or “Thermograms”,
can be taken of the whole body or just
areas under investigation.
By detecting thermal asymmetries, DITI
offers the trainer, owner and vets a
revealing look at their horses, enabling
them to identify and treat problems with
both soft-tissue and bone before it
results in lameness or permanent damage.
This system can be used in most clinics
and stables and tests take about 15
minutes.
DITI can provide information about an
animals response to treatment as well as
the effects of injury, disease or
prescribed treatment. An advantage with
the DITI is the ability to quickly and
easily image the whole horse.
The system was designed and built
with a single objective….. to provide
sufficient specificity and sensitivity
for medical and veterinary diagnostic
imaging…. at an economic cost.
Severe inflammatory processes occurring in fetlock
joints. Note increased sympathetic
activity (hypothermic) in left foot.
Standard bred racehorse with inflammatory process local
to right sacroiliac joint.
DITI indicates sacroiliac instability.
Thoroughbred dressage horse with diffuse inflammation
right thoracic limb.
DITI shows deep digital flexor tendon
involvement.
Thoroughbred racehorse with left forelimb lameness. DITI
confirms diagnosis of inflammation
dorsal left shoulder.
Racehorse with bilateral
hind limb lameness
of unknown origin. DITI indicates
serious
back pathology.
Thoroughbred racehorse
presented with non specific back pain
and poor performance.
Thermography indicated primary back
pathology. Since this was a primary not
secondary pathology an appropriate
treatment
& training protocol was established.
Subsequent scan indicates
excellent response
to treatment by trainer. Horse won in
the city
at first start back.
Thoroughbred presented
with ongoing back
pain. Treatment by equine physio proving
unsatisfactory. DITI indicates
inflammatory processes dorsomedial right
hock. Temperature differentials
consistent with osteoarthritis of distal
hock joints. Therefore, back pain
secondary to hock pathology.
Warmblood presents with
non specific forelimb lameness. DITI
indicates inflammatory process
dorsomedial right knee. Temperature
differentials consistent with ligament
strain.
Standardbred racehorse
with non specific lameness of unknown
origin. DITI shows increased sympathetic
function
distal left hock.
Horse was presented with
non specific intermittent lameness. DITI
showed focal inflammation in the medial
left knee. X-ray revealed a small chip
fracture at exactly the location
indicated by thermogram.
Slight lameness after a
gallop. DITI confirmed
a localized inflammation at the bottom
of
the right tendon consistent with an
over-reach injury. Follow up scans
indicated when it was
safe to resume work.
Difficult to diagnose,
uneven gait in front limbs.
DITI shows inflammation in the front of
the
left shoulder. Treatment to this area
quickly resolved the problem.
Pony presented with acute
lameness in
left foot, "hoof testers" indicated
soreness throughout toe region. DITI
showed local-
ized inflammation in the sole over the
medial toe. An abscess was drained here.
Horse scanned for
suspected sacral problems showed
inflammation over four thoracic
vertebrae in the wither. Traced to
damaged saddle causing injury.
Racehorse pulled up
"sore."
DITI detected inflammation over medial
sesamoid of left fetlock. Ultrasound
showed
some detachment of sesamoidean ligament
