Veterinary Infrared Thermography: Thermal Imaging Diagnoses Early IVDD: Jack’s Story

When it comes to infrared thermography, I have only one question. Why doesn’t every clinic have this yet?

Perhaps it’s not the miracle diagnose-all method, but I think it’s pretty close to it. As well as it is 100% non-invasive and very affordable. And I find the insights it can provide amazing.

Veterinary Infrared Thermography: Thermal Imaging Diagnoses Early IVDD: Jack's Story

What is veterinary infrared thermography?

Infrared thermography detects heat patterns in the infrared wave-length spectrum that are not visible to the eye. The most valuable benefits that infrared thermography provides in diagnostics is the accurate location of injuries and other problems.

When a veterinarian includes the early use of IRT in the diagnostic plan, they are ensuring that the injury won’t go undiagnosed while the patient suffers, and the client frets over the irritation of the mounting diagnostic cost which have produced no firm answers.

Donna L. Harper, DVM

Jack’s story

Jack is a 5-year-old Springer Spaniel. All a dog wants to do is run, play, and have a good time. But Jack was in pain and unable to do so as a healthy dog should.

Jack’s symptoms were pointing to intervertebral disk disease (IVDD).

For six months Jack was having problems indicating there is a problem with his spine. He was seeing a vet. X-rays were taken but didn’t show any evidence. Everything on the x-rays looked normal. But Jack’s life was not.

“The owner was frustrated with the veterinarian’s inability to demonstrate and confirm the diagnosis.”

They could not afford an MRI but wanted help for Jack. They decided to see if infrared thermography could be helpful in figuring out what was wrong with Jack.

And there you have it–two distinct areas of inflammation. The diagnosis of early IVDD was made.

Now Jack can be treated, and the search for the cause of his pain and symptoms is over. Knowing what the problem is, gives Jack the best chance of treatment and management. There is little worse than having a suspicion you are unable to confirm, leaving you in the dark about what you should be doing for your dog.

Further reading:
Thermal Imaging Uses in Veterinary Medicine

Categories: Conditions • Diagnoses • Dog health advocacy • Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) • Thermal imaging

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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