Steinbrenner gift will enhance imaging services at UF Veterinary Medical Center

September 20, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Veterinarians at the University of Florida will soon advance their capabilities for diagnosing disease in dogs, cats, horses and other animal patients thanks to a sophisticated new imaging package made possible in part by a $400,000 contribution from horse racing aficionado and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

The College of Veterinary Medicine is in the process of purchasing a new four-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit from Toshiba, said John Haven, director of the college’s hospital, the Veterinary Medical Center. Used separately or in combination, the equipment will greatly enhance the center’s imaging capabilities.

The new imaging equipment, valued at about $2 million, is expected to be installed by late February. The college will cover costs over and beyond the Steinbrenner gift.

Steinbrenner grew up around horses and is the owner of Kinsman Stable, an 850-acre Thoroughbred horse farm in Ocala. Kinsman has about 40 horses in training annually and has bred or raced more than 35 stakes winners.

UF’s new CT scanner will be one of the first of its type in the country to be used in veterinary applications. The new machine will upgrade technological capabilities at the center to include high resolution half-millimeter images for veterinarians to better view fractures, tumors and other lesions or abnormalities.

“In addition, the scanner will offer greater efficiency than CT equipment presently available at UF, cutting in half the time it takes to obtain optimal images,” Haven said. “Because scans will take place faster, there will also be reduced use of anesthesia and therefore greater safety to our animal patients.”

Other bells and whistles associated with the new equipment will be three-dimensional needle biopsy
capability, bone densitometry and radiation planning software. The scanner has an extra large gantry — the doughnut shaped hole into which animals are placed for the procedure — which will improve veterinarians’ ability to examine horses.

Because it provides detailed, cross-sectional views of all types of tissue and is faster, CT is one of the best tools for studying the chest and abdomen. It is often the preferred method for diagnosing many different cancers, including lung, liver and pancreatic cancer, since the image CT creates allows clinicians to confirm the presence of a tumor and measure its size, precise location and the extent of the tumor’s involvement with nearby tissue.

The MRI is a brand new 1.5 tesla short bore superconducting magnet similar to what one finds at human hospitals and imaging centers.

A large field of view made possible through the MRI unit will allow UF veterinarians to perform whole spine or body examinations on most dogs and smaller pets through a single view, which will result in less anesthesia time. Its larger-than-normal opening and short length will allow the unit to be used to examine horses, in which MRI can be especially useful for diagnosing tendon and ligament injuries.

MRI offers one of the best diagnostic examinations available for imaging many types of soft tissues such as the brain, neck, heart, spine and hips as well as being useful for evaluating blood vessels. MRI imaging provides detailed contrast between different tissues with similar densities, which makes image quality important.

“The new CT and MRI will greatly enhance our diagnostic and research capabilities in the field of equine musculoskeletal conditions,” said Margaret Blaik, D.V.M., a board certified radiologist and assistant professor at UF’s veterinary college. “Mr. Steinbrenner’s gracious gift will allow the radiology faculty to provide state-of-the-art equine imaging for in-house clients, as well for referring veterinarians who wish to send patients for advanced imaging studies only.”

The new MRI will also be available to all of UF’s faculty for other types of research requiring advanced imaging capability.