Recent surveys suggest that 50-80% of veterinary clinics in North America have an ultrasound machine. Although point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) is revolutionizing veterinary practice for some, many ultrasound machines are still underutilized in general small animal clinics. “That should not be the case,” say Drs. Soren Boysen and Serge Chalhoub, professors at the University of Calgary.

We recently had an opportunity to discuss veterinary POCUS with Dr. Soren Boysen, DVM, DACVECC and Dr. Serge Chalhoub, BSc, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM) during an on-camera interview. Watch this video to learn what they had to say or read on for highlights.

When asked about how POCUS is changing veterinary care, Dr. Boysen replied that it’s the number one tool he uses in a practice setting to examine a patient beyond a good physical exam.

Point-of-care ultrasound is incredibly impactful when it comes to changing or modifying how we’re going to look at our patients and move forward with diagnostics or therapy,” he added. “To me, it’s a game changer, when we’re doing our initial evaluation, along with that physical exam, to allow us to see our differentials, as opposed to just listing them based on the physical exam alone. So, we can now actually see and look at what we’re trying to diagnose.”

Dr. Chalhoub gets particularly excited about the portability of using handheld ultrasound, which he can take with him for a quick exam.

The really cool thing, is Clarius will fit in my pocket or even a little case, and I can bring it everywhere. I don’t have to wheel it anywhere. I don’t have to transport it anywhere. I don’t have to plug it in anywhere. I like the freedom to have no wire,” says Dr. Chalhoub. “So, especially for me, when I tend to practice in a lot of different places, it’s nice to have something that’s pretty portable and also something that’s really easy (i.e. not 10 different buttons to start it up or store images, etc.). One thing I love is how quick it connects, how strong the connection is – I feel I never lose the connection as well. How rapid that connection is has been absolutely fantastic. It only take a few seconds.”

Dr. Chalhoub also commented on his amazement on the image quality now available in a wireless scanner.

I do believe that the Clarius probably has the nicest resolution of the handheld units that are out there for cardiac imaging. Honestly, it really surprised me. I mean, we could see all the heart chambers we needed to and more. We were able to do the short axis, long axis, four chamber view, so that really, really surprised me. We were very quickly able to answer the binary questions that we usually do with point-of-care ultrasound.”

Free Veterinary APOCUS™ Webinar: Diagnosing Acute Abdominal Conditions in Under 5 Minutes at the Cage Side

Drs. Boysen and Chalhoub are back on our live POCUS webinar schedule on July 27, 2022. Join these award-winning instructors for a free one-hour webinar to learn how to perform the 5-point abdominal point of care ultrasound (APOCUS™) exam in under 5 minutes. You’ll pick up proven wireless abdominal ultrasound exam techniques to answer several key questions in small animals presenting with acute abdominal conditions.

If you’ve ever wondered if the dog with an acute abdomen has free abdominal fluid or even free air in the abdomen; or, if the post-operative patient that is not eating has ileus, this is the session for you!

Drs. Boysen and Chalhoub have a combined total of more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the subject of veterinary ultrasound. The webinar will be hosted by Dr. Oron Frenkel who will also showcase live canine scanning with the new Clarius C7 HD3 Vet. Don’t miss this dynamic and educational webinar – register today to brush up on your abdominal point-of-care ultrasound skills!

Get Ultrasound Image Clarity You Can Trust for Veterinary Medicine

Ultra-portable and affordable, Clarius delivers the quality imaging and performance of traditional systems without wires to startle your furry patients or complex knobs and buttons to slow you down. The AI-powered app is as easy to use as your smartphone. Learn more about Clarius for veterinary medicine. Or contact us to book a virtual demo.