Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

The Ultrasound Machine: A Diagnostic Wonder
by Kimberly A. Rinker

One of the most common diagnostic tools utilized by racehorse trainers and racetrack veterinarians is the ultrasound. Although bone problems have long been detectable by x-ray, it wasn't until recent years that ultrasound helped to find and solve the problem of soft-tissue injury.

Actually, the ultrasound machine has been in place for over three decades in human medicine. It has been used over the years to visualize unborn fetuses, bladder and kidney stones and to detect a wide variety of soft tissue ailments. In the past 15 years it has become popular at breeding facilities in order to determine if a broodmare is in foal, or if she had a predisposition toward a complicated pregnancy. However, it has also become a mainstream tool for visualizing changes in the density of soft tissues, such as tendons.

The waves of ultrasound cannot penetrate bone, so they bounce back off of it like an echogram bouncing off the ocean floor. With soft tissue, some of the ultrasound is absorbed, but most of the sound waves bounce back, and veterinarians and trainers are then able to see changes in the density of tendon or other soft tissues. In the case of a bowed tendon, there will be fluid in the tendon sheath where the tear appears, and when viewing it, you will be able to see the variance in the density of the tissues. This is how veterinarians make their diagnosis as to how severe a bow or tear in a tendon might be.

Ultrasound sends high-frequency sound waves into an affected area, through the use of a special probe that the veterinarian places in direct contact with the horse's skin. The sound waves penetrate the layers of tissue and send back the echoes. The intensity of the echoes are then measured and characteristics and density of the affected tissues are determined by formation of the area on a computer-like screen. These soft tissue injuries and fluid accumulations are studied by an attending veterinarian, a diagnosis is made, and treatment suggested.

Many times the equine athlete's injured area is much more severe than an outward appearance shows. If a trainer continues to stress the animal without knowledge of a deep strain or injury to the area, the animal could incur permanent damage and his usability and life span as a productive racehorse could be cut short.

Ultrasound can thus be a great resource for both the trainer and veterinarian in not only the diagnosis of an injury, but also in the follow-up treatment and care. It can allow horsemen to carefully monitor the injured tendon's healing process. Another unique quality of ultrasound use is that examinations are completely painless to the animal.

A relatively new area of use for the ultrasound machine has been for the diagnosis of chest cavity problems. Usually a veterinarian can tell when fluid is present in the chest area through the use of a stethoscope, but with ultrasound, he or she can pinpoint the build-up of fluid in the lungs. Thus, ultrasound has become a useful tool in confirming respiratory problems as well. This can often be of great help when a biopsy is needed, and gives the trainer the option of treating the animal with antibiotics, as opposed to surgery. Ultrasound also can find deep-set tumors that otherwise might evade a veterinarian's keen eye.

In closing, it is keen to note that the progress of veterinary medicine throughout recent years has brought to light many entertaining, new treatments for the equine athlete. Few, however, have proved to be as handy a tool, as the use of the ultrasound in detecting and treating equine soft tissue problems.