Curious if this will help cut back the number of breakdowns at Santa Anita- I sure as hell hope so!
I saw this this morning and thought the article was interesting for sure.
Will it help? Time will tell IMO after it goes into use and they start getting more PET scans of all the horses so they can learn more about what âgoodâ and possible âissuesâ look like.
Probably, unfortunately, some horses will continue to break down but this offers more information to look at to see âdid we miss somethingâ? This is what X looked like before the breakdown or injury.
I think it wonât hurt which means no change or benefit and I hoping that benefit is what pans out :encouragement:
How cooperative are the patients?
From the article:
âThe machine has an arm that can encircle a horseâs leg without touching it. The arm can move up and down the horseâs leg, imaging whatever area needs to be examined. It will be particularly useful in diagnosing the lower leg, such as the fetlock and sesamoid areas. The machine has a safety mechanism to open immediately to pressure in case a horse reacts.âÂ
I would think, based on that description, the horses would be compliant. Are they loud? MRIs sure are but I have never had a PET scan.
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I had a hard time picturing the thing. I guess I should check Google. Iâm sure they would not spend all the money to develop something like that if the horses were not going to stand for it.
I am sure sedation will come into play. Donât want your $$$$$$ machine broken anymore than an ultrasound probe or a standing MRI.
edited to addâŠtiming would be critical so drugs are out of the system before race day.
Of course. Some get tranquilized just to get xrays.
This article has a photo of the PET scan
https://www.santaanita.com/press-releases/ahead-of-83rd-season-santa-anita-park-debuts-animal-welfare-technology-never-before-used-at-any-racetrack-in-the-country/?fbclid=IwAR09oS2oZhUSTbj-0Hyj5EhojD0_WKWe6KN0LFSe9vt7kIZU_S0_8MGJ_X4#.XfgTj5NKjIV
The Santa Anita Park Facebook page has more pictures
https://www.facebook.com/santaanitapark/photos/pcb.2858222404201944/2858218430869008/?type=3&theater
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Thatâs really cool, thanks for posting.
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Yes, itâs great but itâs only at SA and betting itâs not free?
Itâs a great advancement in technology that will spread to other locations but not sure it will have a profound effect on eliminating breakdowns nationwide with no national guidelines contemplated for when, or if, it gets used.
I think it is free to the track horsemen. Or maybe heavily subsidized.
It will miss some things - something similar is used for wagon races and it does not pick up heart problems, breathing problems, etc and still, last year there was a horse scanned that broke a legâŠscan didnât catch that either. The incident rate really hasnât changed that much but it did catch soft tissue problems when they were just beginning so those are mostly gone,
Looks to me that the contraption is not meant to go above the knee, but Iâve never seen one before.
Will they scan every leg on every horse before every race?
No.
From this article previously posted
This machine is housed in the Nuclear Medicine Facility in the barn area of Santa Anita Park, and will be operated on a low-cost, non-profit basis by the Southern California Equine Foundation (SCEF). Fees related to the use of the machine will be established by the SCEF. The SCEF also operates the on-site Equine Hospital at Santa Anita.
I think this along with the planned standing MRI will, IMO, help identify problems before they become catastrophic.
Baby steps but still forward progress.
I hope this helps make racing safer and better for everyone.
Regardless, I am sure they will learn a TON about equine physiology that will benefit us all, and Iâm excited to see this available.
PET technology uses a tracer to examine tissue metabolism. The metabolic uptake of the tissue sends a signal. Most familiar use of it is in cancer patients to see the response of their cancer to therapy or to find metastatic lesions. this is different from an MRI which is different from an Xray. Each has its value.
this technology certainly is going to provide data that may illuminate part of the problem, particularly on the micro lesion level⊠It will take time to really put it all together.
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TVGâs Christina Blacker just did an interview with Dr Ryan Carpenter on the new Longmile standing PET scan at SA. My take-awaysâŠ
Horses will be lightly sedated.
Theyâve scanned 10 horses so far. The plan is to scan both apparently sound and lame horses to start learning what ânormalâ vs âabnormalâ looks like and building baselines. Theyâre basically starting from scratch as this is the first standing PET scan in use at a racetrack anywhere.
The scanner height can be adjusted for foot, fetlock and knee scans. Will be used to look at bone remodeling.
If the horse gets âconcernedâ the scan âdonutâ releases very easily. Dr Ryan had his leg in the scanner and appeared to be very easy to pull back out of it.
SA should have a Hallmarq standing MRI in the next few weeks. Same type of equipment in use in the UK where it has scanned over 1000 horses so good baseline information already established for this equipment.
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If youâre getting a PET scan, youâre probably not racing any time soon.
One of my juvenile colts had one of these PETs at Santa Anita. He had to be turned out to heal, and they followed up and brought him back to the track to do a follow up. Hope to finally have him back the track soon. Itâs been a long process!
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