Diagnostic Technology

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a powerful magnetic field, a computer, and radio waves to provide your veterinarian with high-resolution, detailed images of your pet's soft tissues such as the brain, spinal cord, ligaments, tendons, and abdominal organs.

When it comes to many soft tissue injuries or diseases, veterinary MRI often provides a more detailed picture of your animal's body than other diagnostic imaging tools are able to provide.

Our vets can then examine these images on a computer monitor or print them.

Some conditions that MRI can help to diagnose and treat include spinal issues such as tumors, herniated discs or stenosis; brain tumors and inflammation; strokes; musculoskeletal diseases and injuries including cranial cruciate ligament injuries; and abdominal conditions including organ enlargement or tumors.

Radiographs can be used to evaluate the chest (“thorax”), abdomen and skeletal structures, for example. Radiography is safe, painless and non-invasive. It uses only very low doses of radiation to help produce an image of your pet.

An ultrasound may be recommended or used by our board-certified specialists to evaluate organs and structures in greater detail.

With ultrasound imaging, we expose part of the body to high-frequency sound waves to produce image. Because we capture ultrasound images in real-time, we can see the structure and movement of your pet's internal organs, as well as blood flowing through the blood vessels.

At Burlington Veterinary Emergency & Referral Hospital, we have an in-house laboratory to run a variety of blood work which can include red blood cell parameters, immune function, clotting factors, internal organ values (i.e. liver, kidney, pancreas), proteins and electrolytes. We also have a variety of other specific tests that may be discussed at your visit.

An in-house lab allows us to have a faster turn around time for receiving blood results for your pet. In the event your pet needs more specialized tests, we have the ability to send these out to an off-site laboratory

Urinalysis is a key diagnostic test that provides your vet with essential insights into the physical and chemical properties of your pet's urine.

Urinalysis is primarily used to assess the health of your animal's kidneys and urinary tract system, but it can also be helpful in detecting issues in other organ systems and is important for diagnosing metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

This is a valuable diagnostic test for both healthy and sick animals and should be included in any comprehensive evaluation of your pet's overall health.