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HOSPITAL continued

through close collaboration with other outside organization to assess fertility in Veterinary and animal care staff
institutions, around the world. one of our female gorillas. The cost for the position an anesthetized sea lion
one-day rental was $2,500. for a CT scan.
The veterinary staff want to be the Dr. Sathya Chinnadurai (second from
most effective at treating the animals HEALTHY IMAGE left) instructs an anesthesiology
in their care, so they rely on the latest resident and veterinary students.
technology to essentially peek inside an The latest technology goes hand in hand
animal patient. Combining this specialized with the ability to use it most effectively. In
viewpoint with careful analysis of the July, we were happy to announce that Dr.
external symptoms of a patient, they can Marina Ivančić had accepted a position as
make a thorough diagnosis. This visual the veterinary radiologist here at Brookfield
capability is so important to animal care Zoo. She is the first board-certified
efforts here that the decision was made to radiologist in any zoo or aquarium in the
invest in the most advanced radiological world. Her background is in imaging of
suite in the world. (A simple definition
of the word “radiology” is the ability to aquatic animals, and she has provided
obtain images for medical purposes.) support to aquatic animal facilities
throughout the world, including to the U.S.
Brookfield Zoo is currently one of Navy Marine Mammal Program and the
only two zoos in North America with an National Marine Mammal Foundation.
on-site computerized tomography (CT)
scanner, donated by AMITA Health Along with attending to the medical
La Grange earlier this year. The CT needs of the animals living here, Ivančić
scanner is much faster than our previous will be leading the Chicago Zoological
machine, significantly shortening the time Society Radiology Consulting Service.
patients need to be under anesthesia. It
also produces higher-resolution scans that
allow fantastic 3D image reconstruction.
It is the biggest veterinary model on the
market, too, with a 660-pound table
limit, and veterinary staff can now scan
larger patients with greater ease. We
have already performed scans on a
dolphin, a gorilla, an okapi, and a pygmy
hippo—procedures that would have been
impossible with the old scanner.

Another new addition to our imaging
suite is a C-arm fluoroscopy unit, which
generates real-time X-ray images that
veterinary staff can use for quick analysis
during the placement of spinal epidurals,
bone fracture alignments, and many other
procedures. This donation by AMITA
Health Hinsdale represents a significant
cost savings for the Society. Earlier this
year, before the donation, veterinary staff
rented a C-arm fluoroscopy unit from an

28 GATEWAYS | MEDICAL REPORT