Out-patient ultrasound and teleradiology services now available to primary care veterinarians and pet owners in BC
Langley, BC – Primary care veterinarians in the Vancouver Lower Mainland and throughout BC (Surrey, Richmond, Burnaby, Victoria, Kelowna, etc.) now have expanded veterinary diagnostic imaging services at their disposal.
Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital (BBVSH), a 24-hour specialty, emergency and critical care hospital in Langley, BC, has recently announced improvements to their veterinary diagnostic imaging service.
Board-certified veterinary radiologist, Dr. PJ Hamel, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVR, recently joined the diagnostic imaging team at BBVSH.
Dr. Hamel is available full-time for out-patient ultrasound and teleradiology and is available to consult with primary care veterinarians to answer radiology questions or to figure out the best imaging modality to deploy in a given case most of diagnostic imaging technologies (e.g. radiography, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography – CT and MRI). BBVSH’s new radiologist can also perform intra-operative ultrasounds to assist BBVSH’s surgeons and works with BBVSH’s internist to perform interventional radiology (IR) and interventional endoscopy (IE).
To maximize the speed and yield of diagnostics, BBVSH has invested in on-site technology; such as a Toshiba Aplio 300 ultrasound, a 64-slice CT scanner (boasting the MEDRAD Stellant CT Injection System; an automated contrast injector enabling precisely timed contrast delivery during scanning) and a high-field 1.5 terabyte MRI. Most recently, BBVSH has acquired a Siemens flat-panel C-arm fluoroscopy unit, allowing the capability for specialists to diagnose or intervene using real-time imaging.
BBVSH’s diagnostic imaging service is also designed to take a load off the primary care veterinarian. BBVSH will coordinate the scheduling, handle the sedation and recovery, handle the samples, take care of the patient after image-guided sampling and deliver the results back to the primary care vet.
To handle any possible complications following sampling or sedation during ultrasound guided FNA’s or biopsies, BBVSH’s ICU and critical care team is there to monitor the patient, with support from BBVHS’s board-certified criticalists and radiologist. Further support is provided by BBVSH’s other board-certified specialists on staff. Criticalists and surgeons are on-site seven days per week for critical patients and those needing surgery and an internist and oncologists are available for consults based on ultrasound findings; often on the same day.
FOR PET OWNERS
For pet owners interested in veterinary diagnostic imaging services, Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital encourages that they obtain a referral from their primary care veterinarian whenever possible to ensure the proper transfer of medical information.
FOR PRIMARY CARE VETERINARIANS
Primary care veterinarians are invited to request a diagnostic imaging referral and download and/or print our “Meet our new Radiologist” flyer and Diagnostic Imaging department flyer to share within your clinic.
