Client Services
Digital Radiography
Dunbarton Equine can offer its clients the benefits of digital radiography. Through the use of a portable x-ray machine, a specialized digital sensor plate, and a computer, a high resolution image can be produced and viewed in 4 seconds. The advantages of portable digital radiography include rapid, horse side diagnosis, decreased exposure to x-rays, and elimination of the need for time consuming trips to the clinic to process films or return trips to the barn for retakes. The images obtained can be burned to a CD for your records, or e-mailed to a specialist for a consultation. Our images are also stored in a secure facility and with a webcode we provide, can be viewed over the internet from anywhere in the world.
Digital radiography is also environmentally sound because it eliminates the need for harmful chemicals to process the images.
Digital Ultrasound
The introduction of digital ultrasound has allowed Dunbarton Equine to produce high resolution images of the equine musculoskeletal system to accurately diagnose a multitude of conditions that may affect your horse. These images can be burned to a CD for your records and are stored digitally in our database for ease of retrieval and to ensure long lasting image quality.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a noninvasive modality that utilizes high energy waves to treat a number of different chronic conditions that have been unresponsive to conventional therapies. ESWT is performed under light sedation at your facility.
Alternative Therapies
Dunbarton Equine also offers its clients a number of alternative therapies including acupuncture, chiropractic, and mesotherapy. Drs. Gaeta and Braun are certified veterinary acupuncturists and Dr. Braun is certified in veterinary chiropractic as well. When combined with conventional veterinary therapy, alternative medicine is used to treat and prevent many chronic conditions allowing your horse to perform at the best of their abilities.
MRI
Dunbarton Equine is now able to offer its patients high resolution MRI when they require more advanced diagnostics. Through a unique collaboration with New England Equine Practice, Pine Bush Equine, and Christopher Miller, DVM, LLC, Patterson Veterinary MRI was formed to ensure our patients access to the benefits of high quality MRI imaging at an affordable price. Unlike the standing MRI units that only allow imaging of the foot, our Vet Grande-MR unit allows us to accurately diagnose conditions affecting the head, neck, carpus, fetlock, and hock. All of our images are read by a board certified veterinary radiologist to ensure an accurate and timely diagnosis.
IRAP
Interleukin-1
Receptor
Antagonist
Protein Processing System
The IRAP™ system consists of a syringe containing glass beads that maximize the surface area inside the syringe. Blood that has been incubated in this unique syringe can be separated to produce autologous serum useful at the point of treatment. Because the serum is derived from the animal's own blood, the possibility of adverse allergic or anaphylactic side effects is drastically reduced.
Features / Benefits
The IRAP device has been used safely and effectively in preparing autologous serum at the point of treatment. The serum produced using IRAP has been used worldwide by veterinary surgeons for over three years without negative reactions or side effects.
Blood processed using the IRAP device produces serum containing anti-inflammatory and anti-degenerative compounds.
The conditioned serum is completely autologous, and contains no drugs.
The Science behind the IRAP™ process
Defects in articular cartilage can induce osteoarthritis by causing molecular changes in the synovial fluid. Research in molecular biology discovered the major inducer of osteoarthritis was the general inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1 (IL-1) which plays a key role in accelerating tissue destruction and the repair mechanisms.
In a healthy joint IL-1 and Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) are in balanced concentrations. In cases of osteoarthritis, there is not sufficient IL-1Ra produced to block the destructive effects of the increased IL-1. The result is inflammation, joint pain, and finally cartilage destruction.
In the IRAP™ syringe white blood cells bind to the glass beads. The cells are then stimulated to produce regenerative and anti-inflammatory proteins without the addition of drugs. This process takes place over an incubation period of 24 hours.
Technique
During the IRAP process, 50 mL of blood is harvested using the special patented syringe.
The harvested blood is incubated for 24 hours to increase anti-inflammatory and regenerative protein concentration levels.
After incubation, the syringe is placed into a centrifuge to separate the serum from the blood.
The serum is extracted and may be placed into syringes or ampoules for immediate use or frozen for later use.
PRP:
Platlet Rich Plasma is isolated from your horses own blood and provides an excellent source of growth factors and other inflammatory mediators that can be used to enhance healing and soft tissue repair. Since PRP is isolated from your horses own blood, the chance of adverse reactions is eliminated. Some of the indications for PRP include tendon injuries, ligament injuries, and as an aid in wound healing.
Tildren:
Tildren is a newer medication for horses that was developed in Europe to treat lameness associated with boney abnormalities. There is a normal turnover of bone every day in all of our bodies. Cells called osteoclasts break down bone and then osteoblasts rebuild new bone. When bone becomes injured, the action of the osteoclasts is enhanced resulting in more breakdown of bone then is rebuilt. Tildren acts to suppress the action of the osteoclasts and enhance the action of the osteoblasts resulting in an increase in bone density. In lameness associated with bone injury and remodeling such as navicular disease, pedal osteitis, and degenerative arthritis, Tildren can be used to help arrest the process and return your horse to soundness.
Other Services:
Nutrition Consultation:
Dunbarton Equine is pleased to offer nutritional consultation to ensure that your horse receives all of the proper nutrients to maintain health and peak performance. Jackie Wood, in conjunction with Performance Feeding and Kentucky Equine Research, will come to your barn to provide a complete analysis of your current feeding program, as well as your horse's current body condition score. Jackie can then provide recommendations to your feeding program to optimize your horse's health, while also saving you money. If you would like to make an appointment for a nutritional consult, please call our office at 203.775.5561.
Through referral, we also provide our patients access to a complete array of medical and surgical services including gastroscopy, video endoscopy, soft tissue and laser surgery, and colic surgery.
Please call the office to speak with one of doctors if you have questions regarding any of the services that we offer.
