Dynamic Scope Now Available at SEH

We are pleased to announce that overground dynamic endoscopy is now available at Scone Equine Hospital. Our new endoscopy unit by Optomed DRS ® (Dynamic Respiratory Scope) is easy to fit to the horse, provides a stable high quality image and allows examinations to be carried out under natural training conditions.

A little about the benefits of dynamic endoscopy in the equine athlete;

Due to the dynamic nature of the upper airway of the horse, examination during exercise has been the gold standard for airway evaluations. This has been limited to high-speed treadmill examinations for many years and often suboptimal in simulating head carriage and collection induced airway obstructions in the sport horse.

Overground endoscopy allows horses to perform at racing speeds without influencing performance, allowing high-speed evaluation on the farm at the speed and distance the horse normally performs. Safety and reliability of overground endoscopy in racing Thoroughbreds and harness horses was first reported by Desmaizieres LM et. al. in 2009. Since this study the diagnostic modality has also been shown to be safe and effective in sports horse and pleasure riding horses as well.

The endoscope attaches to the bridle of the horse and the recording box to a saddle pad that fits nicely with a saddle in place or under a racing harness, allowing the horse to work with its own tack in place. A hand-held monitor allows the exam to be viewed during exercise and a recording is made for further evaluation in slow motion to identify subtle abnormalities.

Potential upper airway abnormalities that can be diagnosed more accurately with greater sensitivity using overground examination are listed below:

Vocal cord collapse

Axial deviation of the aryepiglottic folds

Rostral displacement of the palatopharyngeal arch

Dorsal/lateral nasopharyngeal collapse

Epiglottic retroversion

Collapse/luxation of the apex of the corniculate process

Rostral palatal instability/Rostral pharyngeal collapse

Palatal Instability

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate

Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy

Tracheal collapse

The examination starts by placing the endoscope with the horse standing allowing standard static examination to be performed first, so detection of the below abnormalities is also achieved, thus offering an all-inclusive examination.

Nasal passage mass

Subepiglottic or palatal mass (granuloma, neoplasm, cyst)

Epiglottic hypoplasia, flaccidity, deformity

Lymphoid hyperplasia

Epiglottic entrapment

Arytnoid chrondropathy

EIPH (Exercised Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage)

To watch how simple and easy a Dynamic Scope Examination is, watch our video - https://vimeo.com/247276021

For further information or to make a booking, please call the clinic on 02 6545 1333.