POTENTIAL NEW USE FOR THERMOGRAPHY

Research from the University of California-Davis suggests that infrared thermography may be useful in screening for illicit injections in competition horses.

In infrared thermography, a heat-sensing camera is used to detect differences in the surface temperature of objects. The technology has long been employed in equine medicine to monitor various conditions, including laminitis, lameness and back pain. Because surface temperatures are affected by metabolic changes, thermography can also be used to track physiological reactions to specific procedures, such as nerve blocks.

The Davis researchers sought to determine whether thermography could detect a recent injection into one of a horse’s jugular veins. Located on the right and left grooves in the lower third of a horse’s neck, the jugular veins carry blood from a horse’s head back to his heart. They are common injection sites for the administration of sedatives and a variety of other medications to horses.

For the study, eight Thoroughbreds were kept in individual stalls maintained at a consistent temperature for 12 hours, and baseline thermographic images were taken of each horse’s neck. The horses then received a saline injection in one jugular vein---with the other left untouched to serve as a control---and thermographic images were taken of the jugular areas 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, three hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours and 36 hours later. During this time, the horses

With only a few exceptions, the United States Equestrian Federation prohibits the administration of injections in the 12 hours prior to the start of competition.

remained in temperatureregulated stalls. Visual examination of the resulting images did not reveal any obvious differences between the injection sites and the untouched jugular areas. But using computer analysis, the researchers found a