303.225.0960For many years, small animal veterinarians had only a few options for canine musculoskeletal diagnostic imaging – namely, x-ray and first-generation ultrasound. The advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and improved ultrasound machines made things better…but still not great. Because these imaging modalities show very little soft tissue, they give an incomplete diagnostic picture. The 1.2mm O.D. NeedleView® arthroscope allows vets to document intraarticular findings and obtain a definitive diagnosis in full color and real time…so they can determine the appropriate treatment plan.
More than a dozen small animal vets had the opportunity to use the NeedleView® arthroscope in a wetlab setting at the 2019 convention of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS). The purpose of the wetlab was to familiarize veterinarians with the ease of maneuvering the 1.2mm (18-gauge) needle arthroscope in a joint, processing autologous point-of-care devices, and applying autologous protein solution under visualization. The lab focused on performing joint lameness diagnostics, blood processing through a newly available point-of-care device, and arthroscopic guided administration under visualization on canine cadavers.
View a video with feedback from 2019 VOS NeedleView® Wetlab Participants
Instructors for the wetlab were Chad Devitt, DVM, MS, DACVS – VRCC Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital (Englewood, CO); Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR – Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle (Seattle, WA); and Sam Franklin, MS, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR – Colorado Canine Orthopedics & Rehab (Colorado Springs, CO). Dr. Devitt is a NeedleView® pioneer, with many years of experience using it for diagnostics in dogs that present with lameness, stiffness, or other symptoms of arthritis.
Feedback from the wetlab participants was uniformly positive. “There’s a lot of applications for me with [NeedleView®] – shoulders, elbows, and knees,” said James Simcock, BVSc (Hons), MANZCVS, of Southpaws Specialty and Referral Hospital in Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia. “It seems like a very user-friendly system, and I would definitely use it when I’m out in practice after my residency,” added Amanda Rollins, MVB, a final-year surgery resident at the Animal Medical Center in New York, NY.