• Ideally, the patient should be fasted for 4-6 hours before the procedure.

• If necessary, sedate the patient to facilitate the diagnostic study.

• Choosing the right imaging modality is not always straightforward and often depends on the equipment available on-site. 

• Different imaging modalities, such as digital radiography, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, CT, and MRI, have specific indications and provide different types of information. These modalities are not interchangeable but rather complement each other.

• If you have doubts about which modality is most appropriate for your patient, consulting with a radiologist can help save time and optimize the radiologic diagnostic process.

• A single radiographic image is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional structure. Orthogonal projections (90° to each other) allow visualization of the depth and spatial relationships of anatomical structures.

• In a single projection, structures can overlap/superimpose, making interpretation difficult. Orthogonal views help to separate these structures.

With just one projection, many lesions may remain ambiguous or even impossible to identify.

A minimum of two orthogonal projections allows for a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of the patient's condition, leading to better diagnostic results and more effective treatment plans.

Veterinary Radiology Consulting recommends performing a minimum of two orthogonal projections for every radiographic study. For thoracic and abdominal radiographs, we recommend three projections (ventrodorsal, left lateral, and right lateral) for a better evaluation.

What DICOM means:

• The DICOM standardized file format (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is the international standard for sharing, processing, and managing medical images and data.

Why use DICOM:

• The DICOM format ensures high-quality images without loss of important clinical and diagnostic information, as is the case with image compression (e.g. JPEG format).

By transmitting and interpreting images in the DICOM format, it enables accurate and informative analysis of the diagnostic study.