IMV imaging CPD course review
B&W Equine Hospital: Diagnostic Ultrasonography CPD course March 2024
CPD Course Review by beccatheequinevet
Sometimes it’s a challenge picking which CPD to do. When the email advertising the B&W Ultrasound course pinged through, I signed up straight away. I’d been looking for some more ultrasonography CPD and a colleague had been the previous year and he had said it was good. Pre-course I was sent all the details about what we would be covering and who would be speaking and a few months later I piled into my van and drove down the motorway to do some learning.
Course Day
On arrival at the hospital, our group of about 20 delegates were escorted to a portacabin round the back for tea, coffee, some giant croissants, and lectures. I prefer in person lectures because you can easily discuss any tricky points with other interested vets as well as the specialist leading the talk. This can lead the discussion in different ways and mean you pick up a few more ambulatory friendly tips and tricks!
The best lecture for me was covering ultrasound of the stifle and tarsus which are both areas that I’ve scanned much less, and definitely less confidently, than the distal limb. We went over what the most common issues to find in that area are, how best to identify the key landmarks and what the prognosis for different issues are. It was nice to know that I’m not alone in not completely remembering the entire anatomy of every joint in the horse and knowing that the anatomy textbook will be out at the hospital makes me feel better about getting it out whilst I do my own scans!
We did get down to the distal limb and talked about how best to identify the manica flexoria and annular ligament along with other tricky areas like imaging the proximal suspensory ligament. Being in Gloucestershire the discussion in the room quickly turned to how to get a half decent image in a thick-skinned cob (shaving, loads of gel, cellophane, and time) which led nicely into the case studies for the next part of the day. The lectures made me feel more confident about attempting some different types of scan and when to try a different type of imaging.
Not Forgetting Lunch!
With our brains full and our bellies empty we were let out into the sunshine for a fantastic picnic style lunch of homemade rolls, quiches, cakes, and snacks from a local company. We all know the food on CPD is as important as the education and they did not disappoint.
What makes the course so great
After making sure none of us could manage another cupcake we were guided to the examination rooms and split into 4 small groups for an afternoon of putting theory into action and doing some scanning of our own. This is where this day came into its own. Whilst listening to a talk on scanning a stifle is undoubtedly useful being able to scan in a small group with somebody guiding your hand and helping you understand the best way to move the probe or which settings on the machine to change to get a better picture. Its also much easier in a small group to get a good amount of practice in and to ask questions without feeling awkward. 4 very well-behaved horses put up with being scanned in dark rooms for a few hours and we enjoyed trying out a few different scanners as we moved between the different locations. At the end of the day, we went home armed with some renewed enthusiasm for a few daunting lameness cases scheduled over the next few weeks a bunch of IMV scanning posters to slip into the ultrasound bag and, of course, a new pen.
