The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine recently acquired a nuclear medicine unit, which allows them to perform state-of-the-art bone scans on horses, according to a July 8 statement from the school.

"The new unit from MIE is a state of the art imaging unit that will allow us to perform bone scans on horses with greatly improved image quality," the statement read. "The unique design of the unit allows us to examine horses more safely in a more quiet environment and most impressive is that the motion of the horse during the image acquisition is corrected by special software making the images more clear for interpretation."

Nuclear scintigraphy, or a bone scan, shows "hot spots" where bone is actively trying to fix a problem. A more diffuse area is imaged (often the whole body, including axial skeleton and limbs) than other types of scans, and scintigraphy can provide a "road map" of the horse in its entirety that, in turn, helps direct the course of nerve blocks and localization of lameness.