Digital radiology gives our practice the ability to diagnose conditions quickly and accurately in-house.

In the old days, technicians spent a considerable amount of time carefully positioning the patient and the x-ray machine to get just the right view of the area to be diagnosed. The x-ray films were then processed at an outside laboratory and returned to the hospital for viewing. A light box was necessary to view the films, and if the images were blurred or otherwise of poor quality, the technician would have to retake them and go through the whole process all over again.

With current digital radiography, our practice captures x-ray images using a machine that transmits those images directly to digital x-ray sensors for storage and display on a computer. There is no lag time and no waiting for films to process at a separate lab. If the exposure is poor or if the patient moves, we can identify flaws immediately and retake the x-rays right then and there. We can easily enhance digital x-ray images on the computer, zoom in, and adjust the contrast and brightness for better viewing. Digital x-rays are also much clearer and more detailed than traditional x-rays to begin with, and we can share the images digitally instead of sending large films out by mail.

Our practice uses digital radiology for dental care and whole body assessment. Dental radiology enables us to view the internal anatomy of the teeth, including the roots and surrounding bone. Digital x-rays can help us identify a fractured bone, degeneration in a joint, and foreign objects inside your pet’s body. One additional advantage of digital radiology is that it emits less radiation than traditional radiology.