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Texas State Aquarium gets image help from Radiology Associates

Posted at 11:26 PM, Aug 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-08 00:27:12-04

The Texas State Aquarium has finalized its partnership with Radiology Associates which will provide CT scans for injured rescued animals at the Aquarium.

The Aquarium is excited about this partnership with Radiology Associates as it will give them the opportunity to utilize advanced technology to assist with injured animals like the sea turtles. Being able to do CT scans on the animals will help determine what injuries they may have internally and what treatment plan is right for them.

“When you have access to great technology like that and really good physicians like that it’s a game-changer for what we can do from an animal medicine standpoint,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jesse Gilbert.

The scans can be performed on all of the animals at the aquarium.

“It can be the sea turtles, dolphins, we have even seen a bald eagle, we have done many, it’s just determining what the veterinary team over at the TSA’s need, but we can accommodate them,” said Director of Clinical Operations, Jessica Martinez.

“It is something we can use for all of the animals at TSA and primarily over at the rescue center. That is where the real benefit is,” said Gilbert.

One of the main animals Radiology Associates has seen is sea turtles, which have suffered from all types of injuries.

“A boat strike, buoyancy issue, and uhm eye development issues and one who had full-blown body tumors. We try to follow up with the TSA and get the reports back on how these animals are doing after we have scanned them,” said Martinez.

“We now have a detailed plan on how to fix the buoyancy issue. So we are actually going to attach some weights to the back of the turtles to straighten them out.and we are only able to do that with really good confidence because of the information we are getting from radiology associates,” said Gilbert.

As far as a time frame for these animals to recover, it just depends on the injuries.

“It is technology from a human medicine standpoint meeting animal medicine technology and conservation. So Radiology Associates is incredibly important in saving endangered species in the wild,” said Gilbert.

Radiology Associates will be conducting the CT scans at their office located at 6 points.