Practical products to ease your workday

IDEXX Snap Pro: 2 minutes for pizza?

Your vet techs don't have time to cram three bites of pizza in their mouths or hit the head. IDEXX says a new software upgrade on the SNAP Pro means they get to skip the clock-watching because the new test tests, takes a pic of the results, takes a first stab at "positive" or "negative," then loads it up into your medical records for you to judge yourself. And it stores up to 100 results. OK, who's got the onions and anchovy? I'm starving and the cats won't mind my breath …

Kruusing right along: Catheters, cones and tables

Kruuse has announced a plethora of patient-pleasing products to kick off the new year. (And your team might appreciate these products, too.) Here's a quick peek:

First let's talk catheters. No, really. Would you be down with decreasing friction in the dog's urethra, reducing a patient's discomfort and preventing iatrogenic damage to the urethra? It's all in the catheter. The Kruuse HC Urinary Catheter is hydrophilic-coated. Water activates the coating, creating a smooth and viscous surface. Bonus: less microscopic haematuria and decreased incidence of iatrogenic urinary tract infections.

Next up: Cones! The Elizabethan collar just got a Danish remodel. The BUSTER premium is for the smart-dressed pooch who doesn't want to be looked down on at the dog park.

The features:

• Quick to assemble-simply slide over the dog's head and close the collar.

• Banding on the inner edge offers comfort for the pet and prevents skin irritation.

• The Anatomic cut follows the curve of the dog's neck for comfortable snooze time.

Finally, let's get it all on the table with the Kruuse X-lifter, a transport table designed to make it easier to get a pooch from the car park (that's fancy speak for parking lot) to an exam room or treatment area. Now we think the X shape steals its striking good looks from X-Men's Professor Xavier, who sported a wheelchair with a similar styling. But this table boasts more than good looks. One of its substantial benefits is that it keeps your team members from practicing improper lifting techniques-or lifting animals that may be too heavy and beyond recommended weight limits.

Here's how it works: You roll the X-lifter up next to the pet's car. Place a sling (Kruuse sells the accessory X-lifter sling) on the table and slide the pooch onto the table. Move the pet into the hospital on the raised X-lifter. Inside, lower the X-lifter as needed and use the X-lifter sling to safely move the dog onto another surface. The X-leg mechanism centralizes the wheelbase for balanced stability while lifting or transporting.

A radical idea: Lowerthedose.org and ImageVue DR50 Digital Imaging System

Do you wear your protective gear every time you radiograph a patient? (That's gloves, apron and thyroid shield, people! And laying gloves over your hands definitely doesn't count.) We know what you're thinking. Your dosimeter badges says you're fine.

But lowerthedose.org, an initiative from IDEXX and the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, is here to give you a stern maternal warning. They care about your health, and they want you to know this: Radiation, of any magnitude, presents health risks, an increased chance of genetic mutations and cancer. (Pregnant women and those of childbearing age, take heed: radiation exposure is also a concern for babies in utero.)

Lowerthedose.org is a radiation safety website that offers tools to help protect the veterinary team from the dangers of radiation. The key points: Follow these simple guidelines (based on the ALARA principle to keep doses As Low As Reasonably Achievable) to help create a safer workspace in your veterinary clinic. Minimize exposure with the time-saving positioning guides at lowerthedose.org. Lower your exposure by wearing the recommended protective gear. And double your distance between your body and the radiation source. 

And if you're looking for a product upgrade, it's worth noting IDEXX has just launched ImageVue DR50 Digital Imaging System. According to a press release, early adopters of IDEXX's ImageVue DR50 Digital Imaging System reported 40 to 50 percent less radiation.

We know you're busy. We know donning protective gear is a time suck and a hassle. But we care. Protect your health with the education at lowerthedose.org. It's free, and you can even collect a couple credits of CE. Getting healthier and smarter? Bonus!

And a few quick nuggets from the exhibit hall floor …

Tag, you're it

Know what's at every veterinary show? A slew of people selling variations on dog tags. But the Pawdentify Rabies Tag System version is a darn sight easier to read then the standard imprinted metal one. Logos and info are bright and cheerful on the non-staining tag (check out Leawood, Kansas' Camelot Court Animal Clinic version, right), Cost is $5 for 200 tags and the unique tag holder (check out the pics).

Anesthesia as art

It's all made in America, it's solid metal with easily replaceable parts (partly because of the founder's deep love of fixable American-made classic cars), but many eyes are caught on the exhibit hall floor by the color choices for Eagle Eye Anesthesia: blue, raspberry, green, yellow-and-purple, red, navy, orange, black-and-red, and on and on. Give the team at Eagle Eye a couple of weeks, and they can match your clinic scrubs, your clinic walls, your surgery suite themed color, whatever. If you want to get into the medical details, head to eagleeyeanesthesia.com.

Spinal solutions

Just a day after we heard how radiographs and other imaging processes could be improved with some cradling foam pads under the hips on certain large-breed dogs, we came across a blow-up solution in the exhibit hall. Blow it up, lay down the pet and manage that surgery, ultrasound or radiography session more comfortably. That's the promise of the inflatable Hug-U-Vac Surgical Positioning System. Watch the creator, a veterinary anesthesiologist, show off the device with a stuffed pooch ...