The autumn of 2020 opened a new chapter in the veterinary care of equestrian sports in Hungary. In September, a new Standing Equine MRI device – that is able to examine in a standing position – was handed over at the Department and Clinic of Equine Medicine of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest. With this new generation device, it is possible to examine the foot, pastern, fetlock, metacarpal/metatarsal, carpal and tarsal regions. It provides detailed information on the soft tissue (tendons, ligaments, etc.) and bone patterns of the limbs, as well as allows the diagnosis of lesions which is not visible by ultrasound and X-ray.
The importance of the event is shown by the fact that from Poland to Greece no country in Central and Eastern Europe currently has such equipment.
The specialist in charge of the MRI is Dr Annamária Nagy, associate professor of the Department and Clinic of Equine Medicine, who has been working with a similar device for more than a decade within the framework of the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England. In addition to her remarkable scientific publications, Annamária is the author of the carpus section in the horse MRI book, which was first published in 2010.
With this new opportunity, we have taken a big step towards providing the highest level of veterinary care for our horses competing in equestrian sports, and for all people who love and keep horses to have a modern diagnostic option that identifies the specific causes of various lameness.
