In-House Veterinary Imaging For Your Pet
Orchard Veterinary Care offers advanced in-house veterinary imaging including digital radiography, digital dental radiography, abdominal ultrasound and cardiac ultrasound services. Our equipment and experience allow us to offer medical imaging to a wide range of species and pet sizes.
Digital X-Rays
Radiographs, or X-rays, use electromagnetic radiation directed towards the body to highlight structures within. They can detect abnormalities including fractures, soft tissue damage, foreign bodies, and dental disease.
We have advanced digital radiology capability, which means less exposure to radiation for the patient and faster, more accurate results.
Soft-Tissue Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a powerful diagnostic tool that creates a real-time image of an animal’s body. An ultrasound works by broadcasting high-frequency sound waves that reflect off your pet’s internal structures.
A small probe held against the skin collects the returning signals to create an image of the internal body, most commonly used to examine abdominal organs like the stomach, kidneys, liver, spleen, and gallbladder.
Ultrasound can help diagnose pregnancy and identify problems with the internal organs such as growths, degenerative changes, foreign bodies, inflammation, stones, and blockages. In some cases, samples of internal organs can be collected via with guidance of the ultrasound, allowing for microscopic examination of cells (cytology) and leading to diagnosis without the need for more invasive procedures.
Abdomens are often ultrasounded, but other soft tissues such as muscles, glands and growths can sometimes also be examined via ultrasound.
Ultrasound can be used in awake patients, but a mild sedation is often required to help the patient relax during the exam (this is especially true for larger and more anxious patients), thus increasing their comfort as well as the quality of the images obtained.
At Orchard Veterinary Care, our abdominal ultrasounds are routinely interpreted in-house,. We perform ultrasounds on our own patients and accept referrals from other veterinary clinics.
Cardiac Ultrasound
An ultrasound of the heart, known as an echocardiogram, provides precise information about heart valves, blood flow, chamber size, and contractility of the heart.
Cardiac ultrasounds are often recommended when a new murmur or arrhythmia is heard in a patient, or when they are showing signs of heart disease such as a cough or exercise intolerance.
Echocardiogram images are sent to an outside cardiologist for interpretation; results are usually available within 72 hours. We perform cardiac ultrasounds on our own patients and accept referrals from other veterinary clinics.
