Navigational ultrasound imaging: A novel imaging tool for aiding interventional therapies of equine musculoskeletal injuries.

The research article investigates the effectiveness of navigational ultrasound imaging, a novel real-time imaging technology, to help conduct interventional therapies for equine musculoskeletal injuries diagnosed via MRI. The study assesses the accuracy of this procedure and its potential benefits and improvements on the precision of such therapies.

Research Purpose and Objective

• The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the potential benefits and success of navigational ultrasound imaging, a new imaging technology, in the intervention therapies for musculoskeletal injuries in horses.
• The objective was to determine whether navigational ultrasound imaging can complement the common interventional therapies and gauge the suitability of regional anatomical landmarks as registration sites.

Methodology

• The researchers conducted a retrospective, descriptive clinical study on horses diagnosed with musculoskeletal injuries of the distal limb through an MRI.
• The study included 17 horses which had a total of 29 lesions. These horses were scheduled for ultrasound-guided interventional therapies.
• The researchers documented anatomical landmarks that were used for image registration during the navigational procedure.
• The success and accuracy in identifying the lesions and their location were subjectively gauged and scored on a specific grading scale.

Results

• All procedures were successfully and accurately registered using regionally identified anatomical landmarks. The landmarks were described for each lesion type.
• Usage of navigational imaging considerably helped in 59% of the procedures and added valuable information for the remaining procedures.
• The outcomes suggested that the navigational ultrasound imaging technique improves the precision of the interventional procedures.

Conclusions

• The researchers concluded that navigational ultrasound imaging can serve as a complementary imaging modality for treating equine soft tissue musculoskeletal injuries that were diagnosed using an MRI.
• The study suggests that this novel imaging tool is not only successful and precise, but it also provides additional valuable information to these interventional procedures.