AdvancedImaging.Vet
Thinking about CT or MRI for your hospital? Start here.
I'm Chris Weaver. I've been a veterinary technician for 20 years and have worked with many different CT systems for 16 of them.
Who's behind this
I'm the National Imaging Manager at Patterson Veterinary, and yes, Patterson sells imaging equipment. This site is my own project and not an official Patterson website.
I start with your cases, your room, your budget and your team. If the right answer is a system Patterson doesn't sell, I'll tell you that and name it.
My love of dogs brought me to veterinary medicine. Running a CT gave me a passion for bringing technology and medicine together to improve the lives of animals.
Technology has been part of my life since I was 15, when my first internship was helping teachers bring it into their classrooms. Before I joined the veterinary field, I trained people to use technology in their daily lives and built websites for non-profits.
I built this site as a reference to help you navigate advanced imaging. It can feel overwhelming at first. Take your time, use the site for your research, and set up a time to meet with me. We'll work through it together and help you reach your goal of owning a CT.
Start here
Pick your spot!
You don't need to know the scanners yet. Start with whichever question sounds like you.
Can I afford CT?
Count the cases you could scan each week, see what that could bring in each month, and compare it with a $5,000 monthly payment. Takes about five minutes.
Help me choose a system
Answer 11 questions about your practice. I'll give you a direction, a close second, and the reasons for both. About four minutes.
Help me compare units
Already have a shortlist? See how each system scores for your kind of practice, and what each one needs for room and power.
I already have a CT and I need service or training
Already own a scanner, or want to know what happens after install? This is how we keep it running and get your team comfortable using it.
Four things decide the right system
Which cases do you want to keep in-house?
Dental and ENT, orthopedic and spine, chest and abdomen, cardiac, emergency.
Who are you scanning, and how often?
Patient size, weekly volume and anesthesia time all change the answer.
What can your building handle?
Room size, power, shielding, and whether the scanner fits through the door.
Who is going to run it?
A scanner your team is nervous to use doesn't get used. Training and service matter as much as the hardware (sometimes more!).
The short version of each technology
High-resolution CT
Very fine bone and dental detail. Most common CT for general practice.
NewTom, Xoran VetCAT, Vimago GT30Spiral-Linear CT
Whole-body scanning in a small room.
MyVet CT Plus and i3DMultidetector CT
Fast, strong on soft tissue, built for emergency and specialty caseloads. Needs a bigger room and more power.
GE, Siemens, Philips and CanonMRI
For brain, spine and soft-tissue work that CT can't answer. A much bigger project.
MRI planningTwo hospitals that want the same cases can still need different scanners. That's why Find Your CT asks about more than the medicine.
What happens after you buy
The scanner is the easy part. This is what makes it pay off:
Install
We plan the room, power and shielding before construction starts.
Train
Techs train your techs. Doctors train your doctors. On your scanner, with your patients.
Support
When something breaks or a study looks wrong, you know who to call.
Grow
We stay involved as you add new staff and new kinds of cases.
Not sure where to start? Ask me.
Tell me about your hospital and what you want CT to do. I'll tell you what I'd look at and why.