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Professor Elwyn Firth of Massey University revealed the same technology used to take CAT scans on humans “is being re-developed for horses as a means of reducing racetrack injury,” reported thoroughbrednews.co.nz. The computer tomography imaging equipment could be used “to measure the amount of mineral in various parts of the horse’s bone. It can be used as an accurate way of measuring the bone density & size in a horse . The image produced is a cross section slice of the bone. Knowing the bone size allows us to determine its strength. From a CT scan we will be able to detect horses in danger of fracture.

Horses will be able to be trained specifically to pressure & increase bone strength. It will be able to restrict difficulties of catastrophic injury.” Professor Firth said Massey University had spent 2.5 years already researching “the logistics of adapting the CT equipment used on humans to horses & the new equine imaging equipment will be the first of its type in the world.” The 60kg machines used on horses will be portable & far less costly than the CAT scan equipment used in hospitals, which are worth millions of dollars. The cost of a horse CT scanner would be in the vicinity of NZ$130,000 & is expected to be available to the public within 5 years.

Massey University is part of a 4-member international group, known as the Global Equine Research Alliance, to help fund similar research projects to the equine CT scanner. The others are Colorado State University in the US, Utrecht University in the Netherlands & the Royal Veterinary College in London. “The specific goal is to reduce athletic injury in racing horses,” Prof Firth noted. “The first project for this new group, with funding of NZ$1.3 million, is to examine conditioning exercise of very young horses.”

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