Ultrasound labs offered at our Fetch Charlotte conference

Our Fetch dvm360 conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, is from March 24 to 26, 2023, and offers 3 full days of continuing education opportunities, make sure to register here. On Saturday, March 25, the conference will launch a hands-on laboratory course called "Abdominal Ultrasound for the General Practitioner."

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Sponsored by Universal Imaging, this laboratory experience will allow attendees to engage in a 3-hour interactive seminar on abdominal ultrasound scans for small animal practice. Attendees will receive an introduction to this clinical topic with lab facilitator Michael Bailey, DVM, DACVR, AAAS/AVMA, medical director for IDEXX Telemedicine Consultants.

“The lab will be a general introduction to ultrasound: the machine and more importantly the anatomy. I hope the attendee will understand how a systematic approach to an ultrasound exam will deliver appreciation of ultrasound anatomy, how you find organs of interest using landmarks, and how to obtain a repeatable thorough exam. This course will develop the skill to routinely acquire optimal images...for a useful telemedicine collaboration,” Bailey told dvm360^®.

The ultrasound laboratory course will be held approximately 5 miles from the Charlotte Convention Center at the Charlotte Animal Referral & Emergency (CARE) hospital. Shuttle transportation for attendees will be provided to and from the convention center to the laboratory site. The laboratory experience will be offered twice on Saturday, with a limit of 20 attendees in each group. Group 1 will be held from 9 am to noon, with breakfast provided at 8 am. Group 2 is scheduled from 1 pm to 5 pm. Lunch is provided for all attendees at the convention center.

This laboratory course is focused on ultrasound scans for the general practitioner. For that reason, only veterinarians are allowed to participate and a separate registration fee is required.

Fred Wininger, VMD, MS, DACVIM (Neurology), is a veterinary neurosurgeon at CARE. “Ultrasound can provide point-of-care, essential insight into abdominal and cardiac disease while being financially accessible for the general practitioner. The ultrasound lab gives attendees exposure and training so they can incorporate this valuable modality into their practice,” he told dvm360.

Each session will begin with the fundamentals of the physics and technology of ultrasound scans. After this introduction, the veterinarians can practice ultrasound image manipulation (knobology) and scanning techniques on live patients to interrogate typical abdominal anatomy. Attendees can gain several skills from this hands-on laboratory course, including a better understanding of ultrasound equipment, typical scan techniques, and evaluation of the abdomen with ultrasound scans.