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Updated June 2020
However just follow this simple checklist to help you get the most out of this modality. Once you have great radiographs, you are more likely to get helpful information. Radiography remains a simple and highly effective diagnostic tool, and obtaining radiographs should be quicker than waiting for your blood samples to be analysed in-house.
Sedation is really helpful. Routinely lightly sedating dogs and cats for radiographic procedures (particularly abdomen and thorax) will vastly improve the quality of your study. Fractures, painful musculoskeletal imaging (e.g. cruciate ruptures) and spinal imaging may require a GA.
Table top exposures: extremities, anything less than 10-12cm thick (cats, small dog thoraxes). Even in digital systems, you will have better detail with tabletop technique, so consider this for any extremity.
Grid/Bucky exposures: anything > 10-12cm thick (medium to large dogs) for CR and film. DR doesn’t need a grid.
Collimation: make sure you can see all 4 edges on your plate for medium and large dog thoraxes and abdomens. For ANY table top exposure open up your collimation to expose at least 30% of the plate.
1. Sedated patient
2. Abdomen: fasting is generally required for elective imaging
3. Two orthogonal views required always (R lateral and VD)
4. Lateral projection: palpate spine and sternum so they are equidistant off the table
5. VD projection = sternum and spine superimposed, pelvis is symmetrical
6. Collimate
7. Rotation makes studies un-interpretable
1. GA generally required, else rotation will occur
2. Lateral: position the thorax for a lateral projection. Place a small sponge or towel under the mid neck to stop droop. Ensure the nose is elevated off the table to be level with the sagittal crest of the skull.
3. VD: as for the thorax
Perfect Positioning
Use a variety of positioning aids to help get straight and well-positioned images. No need to spend lots of money. Some of our favourites are:
Large pieces of foam, cut to size using an electric bread knife.
Ours are covered in vinyl (by a local bean-bag or foam shop) so they are easily wiped down with disinfectant between uses. We have three: small (cats and small dogs), medium (cattle dogs, kelpies etc.) and large (Labradors, giant breeds). Easy to get straight VD projections of the abdomen and thorax with these and useful for getting good pelvis, hip and spine radiographs.
Dimensions:
The troughs above are covered in medium duty vinyl with NO zippers.
Click on the image to download a higher res image to print
In a variety of sizes, mostly as triangle, or thin rectangular wedges.
Some are H-shaped for resting the head. We cover ours in glad-wrap and remove and re-cover when they get grotty.
These are marvellous for positioning all animals. They are vinyl with a nylon loop sewn into the top. Fill three-quarters full with sand or kitty-litter, then they will bend over in half.
Wrap them around limbs, drape them over the pelvis or neck. The nylon loops are useful for hooking in extremities for MSK work in anaesthetised patients.
Ideal quantities and dimensions (cm)
With sedation, your patients should lie comfortably and straight for excellent positioning:
With these simple tips, you should be able to immeasurably improve the quality of your radiographs. After that, all you have to do is interpret them. Of course, a friendly radiologist would be happy to help!
If you have any questions about how to take perfect diagnostic radiographs, just ask them in the comments section below
Connect with Zoe Lenard & Nola Lester, Veterinary Imaging Centre:
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Thanks to a question from Jade and one of the authors of the above blog, Nola Lester, we have now included the dimensions of the foam troughs discussed above. – Judy
Hi, Can you give me the dimensions of the 3 troughs please? Thanks, Jade
Hi Jade, thanks for your question. I’ll do my best to get in contact with Zoe or Nola to see if I can get the dimensions for you. Regards, Judy