Veterinary Technology

Our Diagnostic Services 

Using the in-house diagnostics lab in our Vancouver facility, we are able to offer advanced diagnostic tests in order for our vets to give your pet an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plan.

• Radiography (Digital X-rays)

  Using a radiograph (digital x-ray), we can examine your pet's internal systems to reveal information that may be invisible from the outside. 

  Radiography is a safe, painless and non-invasive diagnostic procedure. Since it only uses very low doses of radiation, even very young pets and pregnant females can safely undergo this procedure. 

  Radiographs can be used to evaluate bones and organs, and diagnose conditions including broken bones, chronic arthritis, bladder stones, spinal cord diseases and some tumors. 

• Ultrasound

  The use of diagnostic imaging allows our team of veterinary professionals to create extremely detailed images of your pet's internal structures.

  With ultrasound imaging, we expose part of the body to high-frequency sound waves to produce images of the inside of the body. 

  Since we are able to capture ultrasound images in real-time, we can see the structure and movements of your pet's internal organs, in addition to the blood flowing through their blood vessels. 

  Having this valuable technology available to our vets in our in-house lab means that your dog or cat's condition can be diagnosed quickly and treatment can start sooner. 

• MRI

  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 are diagnosable through MRI include spinal issues such as tumors, stenosis or herniated disks, musculoskeletal diseases like CCL injuries and abdominal conditions like cancer or organ enlargement.

• Endoscopy

  An endoscope consists of a very tiny camera with a light attached to the end of a flexible tube.

  When we perform an endoscopy, a long, thin tube is inserted directly into the body to observe an internal organ or tissue in detail.

  Minimally invasive endoscopes can be inserted into the openings of the body such as the mouth or anus.

• Bloodwork

  At our vet lab in Vancouver we are able to run a number of common and specialized blood tests to determine the health of your pet, and to diagnose illness.

  Some of the most common veterinary blood tests we do are CBC (complete blood count), white blood count, hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), coagulation panels, blood gas testing, calcium, and blood serum profiles. 

• Urinalysis

  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. 

• Skin Cytology and Fine Needle Aspiration

  Skin cytology involves the collection of a sample of abnormal skin cells such as the contents of a pustule, cells from a rash, or a sample of an infected area of skin on your dog or cat. 

  Fine needle aspiration is a specialized cytology procedure where our vets insert a very thin needle into an area of your pet's body with abnormal-looking tissues, collecting a very small sample of living tissue.

  This sample is then microscopically examined for signs of infection, disease, inflammation, cancer and many more other conditions which can possibly affect your pet's skin.

• CT Scans

  CT (computed tomography) Scans combine X-Ray images and computer technology to help us identify and diagnose numerous diseases and disorders in your pet's body. They have become an essential imaging tool used in veterinary medicine.

• ECG

  If your veterinarian performs a physical examination and suspects your pet may have a heart disorder, we usually take chest X-Rays and an electrocardiogram (ECG / EKG).

  This procedure can be completed easily and quickly. It reveals data that may be integral to your pet's diagnosis. In other cases, a cardiac ultrasound may be required to identify disorders in the chambers of the heart.