A new CT procedure for the study of the elbow in the dog

ntroduction: Previous described canine elbow-CT procedures need the head pulled laterally and caudally. This positioning is stressful for the neck and potentially dangerous in breeds prone to the Wobbler syndrome. Aim: To develop a new non-stressful procedure for canine elbow-CT. Materials and methods: Prospectively, from January 2013, two elbow-CT procedures were used. The described procedure (DP): sternal recumbency with laterally and caudally pulled head and cranially extended forelimbs. The new procedure (NP): lateral recumbency, with forelimbs cranially pulled, very close one to each other and to the neck, in order to obtain the smallest field of view (FOV) and mean pixel dimension (MPD). CT procedures were compared for spatial resolution and presence of artefacts. Results: 18 elbows, from 9 dogs, were included. Mean FOV was: NP 126.6 mm (±14.1); DP 103.3 (±5.16); mean MPD was: NP 0.25 mm (±0.03); DP 0.21 mm (±0.01). FOV and MPD were significantly larger in NP. Streak artefacts were absent in both procedures. Discussion and conclusion: compared to the DP, the NP has a significantly larger FOV and MPD, but a simpler and safer positioning, without streak artefacts. Furthermore, NP permits a more symmetrical positioning of the elbows and therefore to visualize them simultaneously.