Topic:Noninvasive Procedures
Noninvasive procedures in horses refer to diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that do not require incision into the body or removal of tissue. These procedures are designed to minimize discomfort and risk to the animal while providing valuable information for veterinary care. Common noninvasive methods include ultrasonography, thermography, and endoscopy, which allow for the examination of internal structures without surgery. Additionally, techniques such as laser therapy and extracorporeal shock wave therapy are employed for treatment purposes. These procedures are beneficial for assessing and managing a variety of conditions, including musculoskeletal disorders and soft tissue injuries. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the application, effectiveness, and advancements of noninvasive procedures in equine medicine.
Comparison of Body Temperatures of Goats, Horses, and Sheep Measured With a Tympanic Infrared Thermometer, an Implantable Microchip Transponder, and a Rectal Thermometer. Body temperature of goats, horses, and sheep was measured, using 3 methods. Tympanic temperature was measured with a tympanic infrared thermometer, subcutaneous temperature was measured with an implantable microchip transponder, and rectal temperature was measured with a digital thermometer. For goats, rectal and subcutaneous temperatures were significantly higher than tympanic temperatures, but rectal and subcutaneous temperatures did not differ significantly. For horses and sheep, rectal temperatures were significantly higher than tympanic and subcutaneous temperatures, and tympanic temperat...
Evaluation of a combined laser Doppler flowmetry and iontophoresis technique for the assessment of equine cutaneous microvascular function. A combined laser Doppler flowmetry and iontophoresis (LDFI) technique, used routinely to assess human microvascular function, was evaluated as a noninvasive technique for assessment of equine microvascular function, to facilitate the study of diseases such as laminitis. Baseline and vasoactive agonist-induced (acetylcholine and nitroprusside) microvascular flux was quantified at 2 sites (on the dorsal pastern adjacent to the coronary band and over the gluteals) in 6 clinically normal horses on 5 or 6 separate occasions under standardised conditions. Both agonists significantly increased microv...
Use of multisite quantitative ultrasonography for noninvasive assessment of bone in horses. To evaluate the usefulness of multisite quantitative ultrasonography for noninvasive assessment of bone in horses. Methods: 12 healthy horses and both forelimbs from 8 clinically normal horses. Methods: For in vivo measurements, various regions of interest (ROI) were examined on the third metacarpal bone, radius, and tibia. Precision error for speed of sound (SOS) measurements was obtained by measuring each ROI of 4 horses 10 times with probe repositioning. Additionally, 3 operators measured each aspect of the third metacarpal bone of 6 horses 5 times each. For ex vivo measurements, third meta...
Quantitative detection of atropine-delayed gastric emptying in the horse by the 13C-octanoic acid breath test. The 13C-octanoic acid breath test has been correlated significantly to radioscintigraphy for measurement of gastric emptying indices in healthy horses. The objective of this study was to investigate the validity of the test for measurement of equine delayed gastric emptying, prior to its potential clinical application for this purpose. A model of atropine-induced gastroparesis was used. Gastric emptying rate was measured twice in 8 horses using concurrent radioscintigraphy and/or breath test after treatment i.v. with either atropine (0.035 mg/kg bwt) or saline in randomised order. Analysis of ...
Use of infrared thermography to detect injections and palmar digital neurectomy in horses. Thermography is a non-contact, non-invasive technique that detects surface heat emitted as infrared radiation. Because skin temperature reflects the status of underlying tissue metabolism and blood circulation, abnormal thermal patterns can signify areas of superficial inflammation. The objective of this study was to determine if thermography could detect the injection of analgesic and neurolytic agents and surgical palmar digital neurectomy. Procedures evaluated include injection of the lumbar region, suspensory ligaments, tibial nerve, palmar digital nerves, and palmar digital neurectomy. Th...
Luteal blood flow during the estrous cycle in mares. Transrectal color Doppler ultrasound was used for the noninvasive investigation of luteal blood flow during the estrous cycle in six mares. Color was displayed in Power-Mode, in which the number of color pixels on the ultrasound image is related to the number of moving blood cells. Three pictures with a maximum number of color pixels of the corpus luteum (CL) during an examination period of about 20 min were selected and digitized on a laptop equipped with an external frame grabber card. The intra-class correlation coefficient for the number of color pixels was 0.90. In all estrous cycles simi...
Non-surgical management of rectal tears in two mares. Two mares presented with life-threatening rectal tears were successfully treated with intensive medical management. Although surgery has been regarded as mandatory for grade 3 or 4 rectal tears in the past, recent reports have indicated the value of medical management alone. The case reports presented in this article detail the use of antibiotics, flunixin meglumine, laxative diets and faecal softeners in the medical management of two mares presented with grade 3 rectal tears.
Flowmetric comparison of respiratory inductance plethysmography and pneumotachography in horses. Respiratory inductance plethysmographic (RIP) and pneumotachographic (Pn) flows were compared dynamically in horses with bronchoconstriction. On a breath-by-breath basis, RIP was normalized to inspiratory volume from Pn, and peak [peak of subtracted final exhalation waveform (SFE(max))] and selected area [integral of subtracted final waveform during first 25% of exhaled volume (SFE(int))] differences between RIP and Pn flows during early expiration were measured in three settings: 1) healthy horses (n = 8) undergoing histamine bronchoprovocation; 2) horses with naturally occurring lower airway...
Model formulation and determination of in vitro parameters of a noninvasive method to calculate flexor tendon forces in the equine forelimb. To describe a method to calculate flexor tendon forces on the basis of inverse dynamic analysis and an in vitro model of the equine forelimb and to quantify parameters for the model. Methods: 38 forelimbs of 23 horses that each had an estimated body mass of > or = 500 kg. Methods: Longitudinal limb sections were used to determine the lines of action of the tendons. Additionally, limb and tendon loading experiments were performed to determine mechanical properties of the flexor tendons. Results: The study quantified the parameters for a pulley model to describe the lines of action. Furthermo...
Sensitivity analysis and application to trotting of a noninvasive method to calculate flexor tendon forces in the equine forelimb. To test the sensitivity to measurement and modeling errors of a method for noninvasive calculation of flexor tendon forces in the equine forelimb and to calculate tendon forces for Dutch Warmblood horses during trotting. Methods: A normative set of kinematic and ground-reaction force (GRF) data obtained from horses during trotting in another study. Methods: Forces in the flexor tendons were calculated from the data set before and after addition of fixed relative and absolute errors. Amount of error was based on normal accuracy of the variables. A similar analysis was performed for a measure of...
Postprandial arterial vasodilation in the equine distal thoracic limb. The effects of feeding on blood flow to the equine foot are poorly understood. In a temperature-controlled room, duplex Doppler ultrasonographic observations were made pre- and postprandially of the lateral proper palmar digital artery of 5 horses, randomly assigned to twice and 4 times daily feeding in an unbalanced 2 period crossover design. Arterial diameter and blood velocity were measured over 4 h and additional observations made of heart rate, blood pressure, total plasma protein, packed cell volume, plasma glucose and insulin. There was no effect of the feeding regimen on any variable. ...
Methodology and validity of assessing kinematics of the thoracolumbar vertebral column in horses on the basis of skin-fixated markers. To determine the validity of using skin-fixated markers to assess kinematics of the thoracolumbar vertebral column in horses. Methods: 5 Dutch Warmblood horses without abnormalities of the vertebral column. Methods: Kinematics of T6, T10, T13, T17, L1, L3, L5, S3, and both tuber coxae were determined by use of bone-fixated and skin-fixated markers. Three-dimensional coordinate data were collected while horses were walking and trotting on a treadmill. Angular motion patterns were calculated and compared on the basis of 2-dimensional analysis of data from skin-fixated markers and 3-dimensional a...
Assessment of the rate of solid-phase gastric emptying in ponies by means of the 13C-octanoic acid breath test: a preliminary study. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of applying the 13C-octanoic acid breath test for assessment of gastric emptying in ponies by investigating the pattern of 13C enrichment in breath following the administration of a test meal +/- 13C-octanoic acid. After a 14 h fast, the ponies received either no meal (Test I) or a standardised test meal labelled with 0 mg (Test II), 125 mg (Test III), 250 mg (Test IV) or 500 mg (Test V) 13C-octanoic acid. For each test (I-V), exhaled breath samples were collected in duplicate at 1 h and immediately before ingestion of the test meal and at fr...
Ultrasound-spirometry and capnography in horses: analysis of measurement reliability. Ultrasound-spirometry and capnography and the evaluation of corresponding 'single-breath diagrams for CO2' (SBD-CO2) is a relatively new, non-invasive method for assessing pulmonary function in horses. The relative variation and the reliability of observations within measurement sessions were calculated for expiratory tidal volume, for expired CO2 volume (%) and for the phase II and phase III slopes of the SBD-CO2 in horses without pulmonary disease and in horses suffering from differing degrees of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The coefficient of variation of expiratory tidal volume r...
Cross-sectional comparison of synovial fluid biochemical markers in equine osteoarthritis and the correlation of these markers with articular cartilage damage. To investigate the relationship between biochemical markers in the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic and contralateral equine joints and gross articular cartilage pathology. Methods: Twenty-two horses underwent bilateral arthroscopy of their carpal or metacarpophalangeal joints following recent onset lameness. The degree of cartilage damage in each joint was scored and synovial fluid, from both the clinically affected and the contralateral joint, was collected. Bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), 5D4 epitope of keratan sulphate (KS), total glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and hyaluronan (HA) were...
Non-invasive assessment of equine bone: an update. This paper summarizes traditional and current methods of non-invasive assessment of bone in the horse. The description and potential clinical utility of two non-invasive technologies with major development in the last decade are presented, namely, (1) serum biochemical markers for bone turnover and (2) quantitative ultrasound. Serum biochemical markers of bone formation valid in horses are osteocalcin, carboxy-terminal peptide of type I procollagen and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase. The cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen c-telopeptides of type I collagen and tota...
Cytological identification and quantification of testicular cell types using fine needle aspiration in horses. Fifteen stallions of different breeds, age 3-11 years, had their right testicles evaluated by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Cytological analysis showed the following spermatogenic cell types: spermatogonia (1.6% +/- 1.1); spermatocyte I (3.4% +/- 2.2); spermatocyte II (0.8% +/- 0.7); early spermatids (25.5% +/- 9.5); late spermatids (37.0% +/- 9.3). Spermatozoal numbers were expressed as the spermatic index (SI = 31.5% +/- 8.5) and Sertoli cells were expressed as the Sertoli cell index (SEI = 20.9% +/- 17.0) (means +/- s.d). Identification of cell types was relatively easy and no imm...
The application of technetium-99m hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) labeled white blood cells for the diagnosis of right dorsal ulcerative colitis in two horses. The application of 99mTc-HMPAO labeled white blood cells to support the diagnosis of right dorsal ulcerative colitis was studied in two horses with a history and clinical signs consistent with phenylbutazone toxicity. These images were compared to a reference horse unaffected by right dorsal ulcerative colitis. Blood was collected aseptically in heparinized syringes from the patients for in vitro white blood cell (WBC) radiolabeling. The buffy coat was separated out and radiolabeled with 99mTc-HMPAO. The radiolabeled blood was re-injected i.v. and four images of the right and left side of the ...
Total body water and ECFV measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis and indicator dilution in horses. The purposes of this study were 1) to determine the compartmentation of body water in horses by using indicator dilution techniques and 2) to simultaneously measure bioelectrical impedance to current flow at impulse current frequencies of 5 and 200 kHz to formulate predictive equations that could be used to estimate total body water (TBW), extracellular fluid volume (ECFV), and intracellular fluid volume (ICFV). Eight horses and ponies weighing from 214 to 636 kg had catheters placed into the left and right jugular veins. Deuterium oxide, sodium thiocyanate, and Evans blue were infused for the...
Transrectal color Doppler sonography of the A. uterina in cyclic mares. Color Doppler ultrasound was used transrectally in 6 mares to locate both the left and right Aa. uterinae and to obtain flow velocity waveforms at defined times (Days 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20) during 4 estrous cycles. Blood flow reflected by the resistance index (RI) was determined for both arteries on 120 occasions. As there was no significant difference and a high correlation in the RI values between the left and right arteries (paired Student's t-test, correlation coefficient r > 0.94; P < 0.05), the average RI value was used for subsequent analyses. There were correlations between RI valu...
Assessment of muscle oxygenation in the horse by near infrared spectroscopy. This study examined the ability of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to noninvasively determine changes to muscle oxygenation in the resting horse. Five horses had (NIRS) performed over extremity muscle while under general anaesthesia, first with 8 min limb ischaemia, then systemic hypoxaemia for 5 min. A second group of 6 awake horses had NIRS performed over extremity muscle while being administered hypoxic gas (F(I)O2 0.10) for 5 min, and after return to steady state, limb ischaemia was induced for an additional 5 min. In the anaesthetised horses' ischaemia induced marked and significant mus...
Sonographic observations of the peripheral vasculature of the equine thoracic limb. Investigations of the equine peripheral vascular system have been constrained by the lack of a non-invasive method of examining the arteries and veins of the limbs of the conscious horse. Precise correlations were established between the gross anatomical features of the peripheral vessels and their B-mode sonographic appearance in each thoracic limb of 35 horses. A sonographic imaging protocol was established. Additional Doppler sonographic recordings defined the arterial waveforms and demonstrated that blood flow to the foot could be evaluated in the lateral proper digital artery, distal to t...
In vitro and in vivo evaluation of hypericin for photodynamic therapy of equine sarcoids. The therapeutic potential of the photodynamic compound, hypericin, in the treatment of equine sarcoids was evaluated. The in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using three equine cell lines and the observed phototoxic effect was comparable to that on different highly sensitive human cell lines and significantly influenced by the energy density used although independent of the cell type. The in vivo antitumoural action of photodynamic therapy using hypericin was evaluated on three equine sarcoids in a donkey. Four intratumoural injections were given and the tumours were illuminated daily during 25...
Evaluation of equine fetal growth from day 100 of gestation to parturition by ultrasonography. Transrectal and transabdominal ultrasonography were performed on normal pregnant mares (n=10) at 2 week intervals from day 100 of gestation to parturition to evaluate fetal growth. Several fetal anatomical regions (head, eye, aorta, abdomen, rib, gonad, kidney and femur) were imaged and measured using standardized scan plans. The results of these analyses indicate that all of the biometric parameters correlate strongly with the day of gestation. Growth charts were developed, which demonstrate that the following variables have linear relationships with the day of gestation on which they were me...
Transabdominal ultrasonographic determination of fetal gender in the horse during mid-gestation. Gender determination of the equine fetus using transabdominal ultrasonography was studied in 20 mares. One group of 10 research mares was scanned repeatedly every 2 weeks from 100 days gestation to parturition, while the second group of 10 client mares was subjected to echography once during mid-gestation. In males, the penis and/or prepuce was observed on 71 occasions from 102 days to 258 days gestation. On cross-sectional views, the male external genitalia had a round shape with parallel linear echogenic foci up to approximately 140 days gestation and then appeared triangular. Fetal testes w...
Nonsurgical management of type II fractures of the distal phalanx in 48 standardbred horses. To evaluate nonsurgical management of type II fractures of the distal phalanx in Standardbred horses. Methods: Retrospective study of 48 affected horses. Results: Most fractures occurred on the lateral palmar process of the left forelimb or the medial palmar process of the right forelimb; 81% of horses were considered sound enough to return to training and 63% raced. Of those returning to racing, 41% competed in > 10 races, 37% in 2 to 10 races and 22% in only 1 race. There was no difference in performance before and after fracture. Twenty-four of 25 horses had a bar shoe fitted for > 50...
Comparison of radiography, scintigraphy and ultrasonography in the diagnosis of a case of temporomandibular joint arthropathy in a horse. Diagnosis of temporomandibular joint disease in the horse presents a challenge to the equine veterinarian. This case report illustrates a combined imaging approach using radiography, scintigraphy and ultrasonography in a horse with severe arthropathy of the left temporomandibular joint. Radiographs were inconclusive. Scintigraphy with Tc99m methylenediphosphonate localised, but failed to characterise the disease process; ultrasonography was the only imaging method which both localised and characterised the lesion. Ultrasonography proved to be a relatively cheap, technically easy to perform and...
Comparison of forced oscillation with the conventional method for histamine bronchoprovocation testing in horses. To compare response of horses to histamine bronchoprovocation (HBP), using total respiratory resistance (Rrs) measured by forced oscillatory mechanics (FOM) with dynamic compliance (Cdyn) and pulmonary resistance (RL) measured by the esophageal balloon method. Methods: 10 horses with various degrees of airway reactivity. Methods: The 2 methods for measuring airway responses to HBP were performed on separate days. Endpoints compared were increase of 150 or 200% of baseline Rrs (PC150Rrs, PC200Rrs) and to 150% of baseline RL (PC150RL) or decrease to 65% of baseline Cdyn (PC65Cdyn). Frequency dep...
The application of electrocecography for evaluation of cecum motility in horses. Electrogastrography (EGG), in which the electrical activity of the smooth muscular layer of the stomach is recorded percutaneously through the abdominal wall, has been applied in recent years to humans as a non-invasive method. In acute abdominal disease in horses, it is considered diagnostically useful to analyze digestive activity using EGG. Electrocecography (ECG) was examined to determine its effectiveness in evaluating equine digestive motility through comparison, after xylazine administration, between the results of the percutaneous ECG method and the results obtained using a strain-gaug...
Pulsed dye laser lithotripsy for treatment of urolithiasis in two geldings. Transendoscopic pulsed dye laser lithotripsy was effective in the treatment of calcium carbonate urothlithiasis in 2 adult geldings. Perineal urethrotomy provided convenient access for standing transendoscopic lithotripsy and evacuation of a large cystic calculus in one gelding. In the second horse, an obstructive urethral calculus was fragmented and removed by a transurethroscopic approach. Pulsed dye laser lithotriptor is effective in fragmentation of the most common form (calcium carbonate) of uroliths in horses and may be performed in standing horses with reduced surgical invasiveness and ...