Gain access to valuable case-studies and update your animal ultrasound expertise through training.
Beginners’ Introduction to Small Animal Echocardiography
CPD Course
This course is designed for veterinarians who are new to cardiac scanning.
In this single day (3 hours) course, you will learn:
The basic cardiac exam – scanning technique and patient positioning. Using only two basic views, how to examine for:
- Effusions (differentiating pleural & pericardial)
- HCM in cats
- Visual estimation of ventricular systolic function
- Myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs (+ Colour Doppler)
- LA:Ao ratio in cats and dogs
How to obtain the 4 and 5 chamber views:
- Using Pulsed Wave Doppler for mitral inflow
- Using Continuous Wave Doppler for aortic stenosis and estimating pulmonary pressures
Training can be performed on either your own or your tutor’s ultrasound machine.
This course is taught by an Echocardiographer, with the aim of enabling you to begin performing basic cardiac screens and getting the most out of your ultrasound equipment. Clinical training, such as treatment options, are outside of our remit as non-veterinarians.
This course is designed for individuals who are new to cardiac scanning, with little or no prior experience.
Introduction to Echocardiography
Free Online CPD
Free one-hour interactive foundation course on echocardiography basics, designed for those with no previous experience. By the end of this course you will be able to recognise major landmarks from two key windows.
Register below to be sent a link to start your course. With online access, you can start your course any time and anywhere.
The four introductory modules include:
- Say hello to the heart – Get familiar with the Apical 4-chamber view
- Surveying the heart – Learn the Right Parasternal Long Axis and Outflow views, from where you can quickly spot significant cardiac disease
- Turning 90 degrees – Learn to interpret the Right Parasternal Short Axis view
- Revise and test your knowledge through both short questions and our interactive echo labelling system.
This introductory course focuses on 2D imaging, meaning that almost anybody can get started right away – even if you do not own a machine with a phased array probe or Doppler capability. The views you will learn can even be obtained with a standard microconvex transducer.
Introduction to Ultrasound Basics
- Introduction to ultrasound (basic ultrasound & Doppler physics), frequency, transducers, most important machine controls
- The basic abdominal exam:
- Scanning technique (probe orientation, probe positioning)
- Normal bladder, bladder pathology, artifacts
- Normal intestines (+/- linear probe, where applicable)
- Pregnancy scanning in cats and dogs, calculating gestational age, recognising pyometra
- Normal liver, gall bladder, differentiating lesions from vessels (+ using Colour Doppler)
- Dynamic range settings for liver scanning
- Normal spleen
- Normal kidney (+ using Colour and/or Power Doppler, + using Pulsed Wave Doppler), diseased Doppler flow profiles
- Ascites & pleural effusions
- The basic cardiac exam – scanning technique and patient positioning. Using only two basic views, how to examine for:
- Effusions (differentiating pleural & pericardial)
- HCM in cats
- Visual estimation of ventricular systolic function
- Myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs (+ Colour Doppler)
- LA:Ao ratio in cats and dogs
- Ultrasound-guided needle biopsies and effusion drains
- Ultrasound safety and biohazards in small animals
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Veterinary Echocardiography
If you are a registered veterinarian or vet student then you can access free echo cases every month through the Animal Ultrasound Association. Each case will include image optimisation tips and tricks, as well as background and discussion on the case itself.
Please enter your details below to gain access to our free monthly case studies.
