WATERBURY – A weekend seminar on Veterinary Infrared Thermography (IRT) will be held Friday, June 11, through Sunday, June 13, at Teikyo Post University in Waterbury.

The seminar will serve as an introduction for a two-week course to be offered later in the year.

Dr Donna Harper, a veterinarian from New Mexico and a certification candidate of the American Board of Thermology, will be conducting this seminar. Dr. Harper has experience with a wide variety of companion animals, but specializes in work with horses, including hunter-jumper, dressage, western event horses, and both quarter and thoroughbred racehorses.

Infrared thermography is being used to evaluate lameness and neurological problems in small animals; however, its most widely known use is in the field of equine medicine. Areas of equine medicine where IRT is being effectively used include preventative medicine and prediction of soundness; diagnostics and treatment; and prognostics and rehabilitation.

The entire process is quite similar to using a digital camera to take photographs and then displaying the resulting pictures in a software program on your computer. These IR software programs have the added ability to allow the thermographer to manipulate the images in order to gain additional information about thermal patterns in each image. The end result is a report that details the abnormalities found in the infrared images that were taken. Knowing the location of these abnormalities helps the veterinarian diagnose what has happened to the horse being examined. In addition, early detection of significant temperature change is the basis for the use of IRT as a monitor in highly stressed equine athletes: it allows for detection of injuries before they become advanced enough to threaten the horse’s career.

This seminar is to introduce the use of infrared thermography in veterinary diagnostics to the public and prospective students alike. Session I (Friday and Saturday evening) will be information appropriate for the general public and will include an evening of live demonstration. Session II (all day Saturday with a prerequisite of Session I) will cover general information on how to conduct an acceptable infrared examination on animals. Session III (all day Sunday) which will be directed toward veterinarians or sponsored veterinary technicians, will cover the use of IRT in daily diagnostics as well as image interpretation and case presentations.

The proposed full-length instructional course, slated for fall 2004, would be two weeks in length.

For information, contact Carole Baker at Teikyo Post University at (203) 596-4631 or email cbaker@teikyopost.edu. Dr. Harper can be contacted at info@vet-therm.com.