Imaging Services

Imaging techniques, like radiographs and ultrasound, are useful to examine the interior world of your pet’s anatomy. Full Circle Veterinary Alternatives anticipates that your conventional veterinarian team will do the imaging work required for your dog or cat. Full Circle Veterinarians may make recommendations or referrals for diagnostic imaging and recommend Maritime Veterinary Imaging for support in analyzing radiographs and ultrasounds by a board-certified veterinary ultrasonographer, Dr. Rist.

More complex imaging such as CT scans or MRI’s are performed at referral practices like the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island or Riverview Animal Hospital in Moncton. 

Radiograph images, or x-rays, are taken to diagnose problems common to dogs and cats, for example, arthritis, abnormal organ size, foreign objects in the abdomen or internal masses. Radiographs provide a flat image; certain structures like adrenal glands are difficult to locate on an x-ray.

Ultrasound differs from radiography in that the individual images are cross-sections through the body. Ultrasound allows for quite detailed anatomical examination of internal structures permitting visualization of small masses that an x-ray may miss. Motion is also seen on ultrasound, and this is important for evaluating things like heart function and gut motility.

A subspecialty in ultrasonography is cardiac (heart) evaluation. We are fortunate to have a cardiac specialist, Dr. Orr from East Coast Veterinary Cardiology in the HRM region who provides this service for conventional veterinary practices.