09/10/2025
𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝘂𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆
🦴 When performance drops or lameness becomes a mystery, scintigraphy (bone scanning) can be the game changing diagnostic tool your horse needs. Scintigraphy is particularly useful in cases where nerve blocks haven’t revealed the source, other imaging is inconclusive, the site of lameness is in the upper region of the limbs or in cases of multi-limb lameness.
Scintigraphy offers a highly sensitive way to identify subtle, early-stage disease and bone changes that other modalities might miss.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆? Scintigraphy allows us to detect subtle bone inflammation, osteoarthritis, stress injuries or ‘greenstick’ fractures that may not be visible on X-rays or ultrasound. It’s especially valuable for:
🔹 Intermittent or unexplained lameness
🔹 Back, pelvis, or sacroiliac pain
🔹 Poor performance without obvious clinical signs
🔹 Early detection of stress fractures, abnormal stress modelling & monitoring fracture healing.
🔹 Difficult to Image Areas: Excellent for assessing areas like the pelvis or for performing a whole-body scan—not possible with standard radiography.
🔹 Can even help to identify myopathies such as Exertional Rhabdomyolysis ("tying up").
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗘𝗖 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲:
When dealing with complex lameness, the quality of the image and, most importantly, its interpretation are critical. Nuclear scintigraphy has been a part our diagnostic toolkit since 1990! Imaging is performed with our ‘state of the art’ large field digitalised camera. The high-resolution images combined with a wealth of expertise our clinicians have built over decades of interpretation, affords you the best opportunity of getting to the bottom your horses’ problem.
🔹 Superior Images: Our advanced equipment and highly trained staff mean we can produce the best possible quality images—capturing the most subtle changes in bone metabolism.
🔹 Expert Interpretation: Our veterinarians possess unparalleled expertise in image interpreting alongside your horse's clinical presentation. This synergy ensures a more accurate and comprehensive diagnosis.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:
This non-invasive procedure involves injecting your horse with a small amount of a radioactive agent, or "dye," called technetium 99 . The dye is rapidly taken up by areas of increased bone activity (e.g., sites of inflammation, healing, or high stress).
🦴 Shortly after injection, a special gamma camera is used to detect the low-level radioactivity emitted from these areas.
🦴 This provides two-dimensional, detailed images of your horse's skeleton, highlighting "hot spots" where the bone is undergoing active change.
🩺 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙖 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙀𝘾 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙨 & 𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣.
