San Luis Rey Equine Hospital, in Bonsall, California, has announced that it has added computed tomography (CT) to its advanced diagnostic imaging capabilities.

Computed tomography uses very small X ray beams from many different angles around the body (called a slice) that are transmitted to a computer program, which produces a high-quality image. Images can be manipulated to render 3-D reconstructions from 2-D slices, which can aid in diagnosing and treating ailments.

The CT unit at San Luis Rey Equine Hospital can accommodate large body parts relative to the majority of CT units available for medical or veterinary use; the unit’s gantry (the donut-shaped part of the CT scanner) measures 85 centimeters in diameter compared the commonly used 60 centimeter diameter gantry.

A 3-D reconstruction of a horse’s skull