Page 154 - Canine Lameness

126 10 Diagnostic Imaging Techniques in Lameness Evaluation

Table 10.1 Imaging modality comparisons.

Imaging modality Advantages Disadvantages Common uses

Radiography Readily available Underdiagnoses First‐line
Detects osseous disease soft tissue disease diagnosis
and soft tissue Superimposition of
calcification structures
Ultrasonography More available Highly operator Soft tissue injuries
Detects periarticular dependent of the shoulder
soft tissue, muscle, and Underdiagnoses Achilles
meniscal injury in smaller joints and tendinopathy
larger joints medial shoulder Detection of
structures meniscal tears
Evaluation of
specific muscles
(such as iliopsoas)
Computed Excellent osseous detail Less availability Elbow dysplasia
tomography Good soft tissue detail Cost Detection of
Can use intravenous May need general OCD‐lesions
contrast anesthesia Complex fractures
Multi‐plane Multiple regions Angular limb
reconstruction scanned quickly deformities
Magnetic Excellent soft tissue Limited availability Soft tissue injuries
resonance detail Cost of the shoulder
imaging Can use intravenous General anesthesia Evaluation of
contrast Limited to specific specific muscles
Multiple sequences/ region (such as iliopsoas)
planes Detection of
meniscal tears
Nuclear Physiologic/metabolic Very limited Obscure lameness
medicine activity detection availability
Lesion localization and Cost
diagnosis (PET/CT) General anesthesia
(PET/CT)
Long scan times
(PET/CT)

10.3 Ultrasonography

Ultrasonography (Figure 10.2) is used often to evaluate soft tissue changes and can differentiate fluid
and soft tissue thickening, as well as muscle fiber pattern changes; whereas, radiographs cannot.
Ultrasonography is often complementary to radiographs when obvious osseous disease is not present
and muscular injury is suspected. Dynamic evaluation of muscle and joint movement with ultra-
sound is beneficial, and ultrasound imaging has become common in musculoskeletal diagnosis.
Regions commonly evaluated with ultrasound include the shoulder, calcaneal tendon and tarsus,
and stifle (Long and Nyland 1999; Lamb and Duvernois 2005; Caine et al. 2009; Cook 2016).
Advantages to ultrasonography include the ability to perform the study on either awake or sedate
patients and the use of nonionizing sound waves. However, ultrasound is highly operator dependent,
and thorough and accurate evaluation can be limited due to a sonographer’s level of experience.