Safety first: Churchill Downs previews equine PET scanner

Louisville, Ky.

A top priority in racing is the safety and well-being of equine athletes, and Churchill Downs soon will provide veterinarians and horsemen with a new advancement in diagnostics.

Churchill Downs explained the scanner in a media advisory. "A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is a diagnostic imaging test that can help identify abnormal metabolic activity in the bones of a racehorse's fetlock (ankle). Recent scientific studies have supported PET image findings as a highly effective diagnostic approach for identifying potential issues in the lower limbs of race horses." 

In a presentation Wednesday at the track, Dr. Mathieu Spriet, associate professor of diagnostic imaging at the school of veterinary medicine at the University of California-Davis, spoke via Zoom about the scanner's purpose, capabilities and functionality. Longmile Veterinary Imaging executive director David Beylin was in attendance, describing himself as "the man with the machine." More information about the MILE-PET device can be found online here.  

With high-resolution molecular imaging, MILE-PET can assist in diagnosing lower limb injuries in front and hind legs. The scanner is adjustable in height to access all joints in the lower limb. Horses would be standing and sedated while imaged and could return to their stalls the same day as the scan. 

Churchill Downs will be the first racetrack outside California to have access to standing equine PET imaging on location.