UW Veterinary Care Imaging Center

With nineteen specialties under one roof, UW Veterinary Care focuses its expertise, its resources, and its passion on the care of your animal and you. Within our academic environment of discovery, teaching, and learning, you can expect exceptional care and unsurpassed diagnostic resources. In our continuing commitment to excellence, plans are now underway to upgrade our Imaging Center. With your help, we can continue to deliver state-of-the-art diagnostic and medical care to your animals.

State-of-the-art MRI (~$1.5 million)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) helps diagnose many medical conditions. MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radiofrequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed images of organs, soft tissues, bones, vessels and virtually all other internal body structures. These detailed images allow radiologists to better evaluate and determine the presence of certain diseases that may not be assessed adequately with other imaging methods, including CT.

• disease of the brain and spinal cord 
• tumors of the chest, abdomen or pelvis.
• certain types of heart disease.
• blockages, enlargements or anatomical variants of blood vessels
• diseases of the liver and other abdominal organs
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• cysts and solid tumors in the kidneys and other parts of the urinary tract.
• tumors and other abnormalities of the reproductive organs

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State-of-the-art CT Scanner (~$1 million) 

Computed tomography is a diagnostic procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to obtain cross-sectional images of the body. The CT computer displays these detailed images of the tissues of all body regions, removing superimposition. State-of-the-art computed tomography is used in several ways, including:

• detecting or confirming the presence of a tumor
• guiding a biopsy 
• helping plan radiation therapy or surgical treatment and monitor response to treatment 
• ascertaining damage to internal organs, such as the kidneys, liver and spleen, after an accident 
• helping diagnose problems with blood vessels and the heart
• looking for damage to bones, cartilage, muscles, tendons, and joints 
• checking for bleeding in the brain after a head injury

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Fluoroscopy Unit for Radiology (~150K)

Fluoroscopy is used extensively for urinary, neurologic, and gastrointestinal studies, as well as for making x-rays of large dogs or other animals such as sheep, llamas, foals and calves. Because of the age of our current fluoroscopy unit image quality has deteriorated and replacement parts for the unit are no longer available. A new fluoroscopy unit would improve the interface with our digital radiography system, enhance image retrieval, presentations, and long-term archiving.

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Imaging Center Remodel (~$1.5 million)

The Imaging Center design will be organized around a central control room that will support large and small animals in both the MRI and CT units. The area will be expanded to accommodate a multislice computed tomography (CT) machine and a high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. This design will provide a coherent alternative to current facilities that are congested and fragmented. For example, companion animals are presently escorted to an outside trailer for their MRI, a unit that is not accessible for horses or other large animals. The CT scanner, located in another area of the hospital, only performs basic CT functions and is not designed to accommodate large animals.

The Imaging Center will take several years to complete, with renovations beginning when the UW School of Veterinary Medicine raises an initial $1 million toward the final project cost of $3.5 million. The project will include several phases to ensure continuous operation and minimal disruption to services. 

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