Cutting-edge nuclear medicine will soon be used at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Veterinary Clinical Centre in Wagga Wagga.

 

The University will unveil a $250 000 nuclear medicine facility, cementing its position as a leader in veterinary and animal science practice and training in regional Australia.

 

A specialised machine called a gamma camera has been adapted to take images of an animal to improve the diagnosis of disease and injury.

 

 

Head of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Professor Nick Sangster, said students will gain experience in diagnostic tools at the forefront of veterinary medicine.

 

Senior lecturer with the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Dr Geoffrey Currie, says it will also help medical radiation science students who are being trained to use the technology on people.

 

“Laboratory skills are generally taught using bits of perspex designed to represent an organ without having any real function,” he said. “Refining these skills on a living biological model provides a better link between theoretical learning and practical skill development.”

 

The gamma camera is one of only a handful of animal imaging facilities of this type in the country and will make the technology accessible to the average pet and pony owner.