All About ... Thermography

Thermography is another diagnostic technique which can be used to highlight problems in numerous areas of the body, legs and hooves.  It can therefore be used to pinpoint specific areas for x-ray and further investigation.
 

We all slide our hands down our horses legs and over their bodies to check for injuries or heat.  If your horse seems a bit lame the first thing you check is the heat of the area.  Thermography is 40 times more sensitive than your hand!

Body heat produces infra-red rays and these can be used to produce a picture of an area.  Inflamed areas are warmer than normal and therefore show up differently on a thermogram.  However, it also useful to highlight areas which are colder than normal and so can highlight circulatory problems.

Thermography is a non-invasive and non-contact technique which allows early diagnosis because the temperature of an area is the first to change with injury.  Research suggests that the temperature of an area can increase up to 3 weeks before clinical symptoms appear.

Cameras are now small and hand held which means they can be used anywhere.  They provide high quality images which can then be viewed on a computer.  

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Until next time!

Jo