Digital Radiography for the Veterinary Technician, 1st Edition
Matt Wright, DVM, DACVR

 

VSPN Review by Oreta M. Samples, VT, MPH, DHScStar
(Click on stars for an explanation)
 

This little ninety page paperback is one of the most exciting finds of 2010 for this reviewer. Published by Animal Insides, Inc. this book is a heaven sent gift for the veterinary technician who is about to have their first encounter with digital radiography. While some may find the conversational tone off-putting, the author has sought to put veterinary technicians at ease while introducing this sometimes confusing radiographic newcomer to clinical veterinary medicine.

The first thing that the reader recognizes is the authors’ thorough appreciation for veterinary technicians especially when it comes to the role they play in radiology. His confidence is exhibited further in his advocating veterinary technicians be brought into the decision making process. This, coupled with the obvious clinical improvements digital radiography brings to clinical veterinary medicine, makes for a winning combination. To quote Dr. Wright: “With digital radiography, better medicine happens because it is easier to obtain a good image NOT because digital gives us a more diagnostic image than film,” hence better diagnostic images enhance the practitioners own diagnostic abilities.

From a business standpoint, this book presents a comprehensive look at the different types of machines currently available which in turn serves as a starting point for those looking to buy. While explaining the pros and cons of a variety of machines, the subject of cost is also factored in. Digital is an expensive startup proposition; however this book makes one realize that the old adage, “you have to spend money to make money” was never truer than when addressing the addition of digital radiography to a clinic.

Clinically speaking, this book is a great troubleshooting guide that is plainly written with enhancements in the form of black and white images. The images show the radiographer how shots should look when properly taken as well as when things go wrong. This illustrative method of good shot/bad shot is a great teaching tool for students as well as seasoned veterinary technicians being introduced to digital radiography for the first time.

Throughout this plain spoken book are a couple of interesting things which the reviewer would be remiss if proper attention is not given: Chapter 17 entitled Installation Day Checklist really should be in the place of Chapter 1 as this chapter instructs veterinary technicians on what to expect when installation day for the new digital radiography unit occurs for their clinic. Chapter 10 had what this reviewer felt was the most interesting application of information for a textbook chapter. The entire chapter was comprised of a supplemental article reprint from the Journal of Veterinary Radiography and Ultrasonography entitled: Introduction to DICOM for the Practicing Veterinarian written by Dr. Wright.

As the reader may have guessed, this reviewer really enjoyed and plans to utilize this book. There is very little that did not charm, however there were a couple of issues which could be put to rest in future editions of this book. There were occasional grammatical and spelling errors that cropped up and being a “nerdy proofreader” they distracted the reviewer. The lack of reference citations at the end of every chapter was something that the reviewer found deficient as they can be helpful in searching other informational resources. It should be noted that Chapter 10 and 16 were solidly referenced while the remaining fifteen chapters were not; however many of these chapters dealt with learning clinical applications of digital radiograph technique through case studies.

Ultimately I found Dr. Wrights’ presentation of this subject to be charmingly disarming, something I was not expecting when I began reading. Because he does not follow the set-in-stone rigid format of so many publishers, he indeed grabs the reader with his unique writing style. This is a book that will be helpful to both veterinarians and their veterinary technicians, reached for again and again as they get acquainted with their digital radiograph machine. Students also will be aided in their studies with this newest toy in the arsenal of clinical diagnostics. Indeed after reading this book I wanted to go straightaway to spend a day in a radiography suite with Dr. Wright and play before the University gets our own digital magic box. Already I am looking forward to the second edition of this neat little book and am delighted to promote the first edition with a five star rating.

Publisher: Animal Insides Press (2010)

ISBN #: NONE

ID #: 9333592

VIN Bookstore: Currently unavailable


Table of Contents
Book Reviews
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Introduction
Alternative Medicine
Anatomy
Anesthesia/Analgesia
Animal Welfare
Aquatic/Fish
Avian
Behavior
Camelids
Canine
Cardiology
Client Education
Cytology / Hematology / Histology
Dental
Dermatology
Dictionary/Reference
Drugs/Pharmacology
Emergency Med
Endocrine
Epidemiology
Equine
Ethics
Exotics
Feline
Food Animals/Livestock
General
Genetics
Geriatrics
Handling & Restraint
Human-Animal Bond
Imaging & Radiology
Immunology
Infectious Diseases
Internal Medicine
Laboratory Medicine
Microbiology
Multimedia
Neurology
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Parasitology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Physiology
Physiotherapy
Practice Management
Primates
Rabbits, Rodents & Ferrets
Reproduction
Reptile/Amphibian
Research
Respiratory
Ruminants
Sheep/Goats
Shelter Medicine
Surgery
Swine
Technicians
 
* Animal Bio. & Care 2nd Ed.
 
* Appl. Pharm. Tech. 4th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* BSAVA Nursing 4th Ed.
 
* Career Choice (VSPN Review)
 
* Common Disease 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Lab. Vet. Tech. 5th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Large Animal Vet. Tech. (VSPN Review)
 
* Mosby PDQ (VSPN Review)
 
* Radiography Tech. 4th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Rev. Q&A Tech. 3rd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Small Animal Toxicology, 2nd Ed.
 
* Textbook Of Veterinary Physiological Chemistry: 2nd ed
 
* Vet. Dentistry Tech. (VSPN Review)
 
* Vet. Nursing Exotic
 
* VSPN Notebook 3.0 (VSPN Review)
 
* Workbook McCurnin 7th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
A Veterinary Technicians Guide to Exotic Animal Care, 2nd Edition (VSPN)
 
AAEVT Equine Vet. Tech.
 
AAEVT’S Equine Manual for Veterinary Technicians (VSPN Review)
 
Abdominal Radiology for the Small Animal Practitioner
 
Advanced Monitoring and Procedures for Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care
 
All Horse Systems Go (VSPN Review)
 
An Illustrated Guide to Veterinary Medical Terminology, 4th Ed (VSPN)
 
Anaesthesia Nurses 2nd Ed.
 
Anaesthesia Nurses 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Anatomy and Physiology for Veterinary Technicians and Nurse: A Clini Appr (VSPN Review)
 
Anesthesia for Veterinary Technicians
 
Anesthesia for Veterinary Technicians (VSPN Review)
 
Anthology of Biosafety XII: Managing Challenges for Safe Operations of BSL-3/ABSL-3 Facilities
 
Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Dermatology, 2nd Ed
 
Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Dermatology, 2nd Ed
 
Boothe’s Small Animal Formulary 7th Ed (VSPN)
 
BSAVA Can. Fel. Nursing 2nd Ed.
 
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Cardiorespiratory Medicine, 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing, 5th ed (VSPN)
 
Calculations Vet. Nurses
 
Cardiovascular Disease in Small Animal Medicine, 3rd Ed.
 
Clin. Anat. Lab. Tech. (VSPN Review)
 
Clin. Anat. Tech. 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction, 4th Ed (VSPN)
 
Clinical Pathology & Laboratory Techniques for Veterinary Technicians (VSPN)
 
Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Dogs and Cats, 2nd Ed
 
Companion Animals in Society (VSPN)
 
Comparative Veterinary Histology
 
COMPAS Material Safety Data Systems
 
Dermatology for the Small Animal Practitioner (VSPN Review)
 
Diagnostic Imaging of Exotic Pets: Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles
 
You are hereDigital Radiography for the Veterinary Technician, 1st Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary 32nd Ed. ( VSPN)
 
Endoscopy for the Veterinary Technician
 
Equine Nursing Manual
 
Essentials of Veterinary Parasitology
 
Ethnoveterinary Botanical Medicine, Herbal Medicines for Animal Health (VSPN)
 
Exotic Animal Medicine for the Vet Tech, 2nd Ed (VSPN Review)
 
Fluid Therapy for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses (VSPM)
 
Focused Ultrasound Techniques for the Small Animal Practitioner (VSPN)
 
Fundamentals of Pharmacology for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Edition
 
Fundamentals of Small Animal Surgery 1st ed
 
Handbook Radio. Positioning (VSPN Review)
 
Hematology Techniques & Concepts for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Ed
 
Hematology Techniques and Concepts for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Ed.
 
How We Do Things Here: Developing and Teaching Office-Wide Protocols (VSPN)
 
Inspecting Surgical Instruments – An Illustrated Guide (VSPN Review)
 
Introduction to Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, 2nd Ed
 
Kirk And Bistner’s Handbook Of Veterinary Procedures And Emergency Treatment, 9th Ed.
 
Large Animal Clinical Procedures for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Ed
 
Manual Clin. Dog Cat 3rd Ed.
 
McCurnin Tech. 7th Ed.
 
McCurnin’s Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians, 8 Ed (VSPN)
 
Merck Veterinary Manual, 10th Ed
 
Mosby Tech. 3rd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
North American Companion Animal Formulary, 10th Edition (VSPN)
 
Nutrition and Disease Management for Veterinary Technicians, 2nd Ed
 
Nutrition Vet. Tech.
 
Otitis Externa: An Essential Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment (VSPN)
 
Pain Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses
 
Pain Management for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses( VSPN)
 
Patient Assessment (VSPN Review)
 
Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook, 7th Ed (VSPN Review)
 
Pocket Guide to APA Style, 4th Ed
 
Pocket Handbook of Nonhuman Primate Clinical Medicine (VSPN)
 
Practical Imaging Tech. 3rd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Principles and Practices of Veterinary Technology, 3rd Ed (VSPN Review)
 
Purchasing Digital Radiography Without Getting Your Head Handed To You
 
Rabbit Med. Surg. Nurse
 
Radiation Safety and Non-Manual Patient Restraint in Veterinary Radiography
 
Restraint and Handling for Veterinary Technicians (VSPN Review)
 
Review Q&A for Vet Techs, 4th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
SA Emergency Tech. 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Saunders Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, Small and Large Animals, 4th Ed
 
Small Animal Diagnostic Ultrasound, 2nd Ed. ( VSPN)
 
Small Animal Toxicology Essentials, 2nd Ed
 
Standard Abbreviations for Veterinary Medical Records, 3rd Ed. (VSPN)
 
Statistics at the Bench
 
Surgical Instrument Flash Cards (VSPN Review)
 
Team Satisfaction Pays - Organizational Development for Practice Success (VSPN)
 
Tech. Guide Exotic Care
 
The Consulting Veterinary Nurse
 
The Feline Patient 4th edition (VSPN Review)
 
The Little Book of CT in Veterinary Medicine: A PRACTICAL Guide to CT Technique for Technicians and Veterinarians
 
The VSPN Notebook®, Version 4.0 (VSPN Review)
 
The Welfare of Animal Used in Research: Practice and Ethics (VSPN)
 
Thoracic Radiology for the Small Animal Practitioner
 
Unlocking Medical Terminology (VSPN Review)
 
Vet. Clinical LA (VSPN Review)
 
Veterinary Assisting Fundamentals (VSPN Review)
 
Veterinary Cytology of the Dog, Cat, Horse and Cow
 
Veterinary Disaster Response
 
Veterinary Echocardiography, 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
Veterinary Hematology – A Diagnostic Guide and Color Atlas (VSPN)
 
Veterinary Technician’s Daily Reference Guide: Canine and Feline (VSPN)
 
Veterinary Technician’s Large Animal Daily Reference Guide (VSPN)
 
Writing the Research Paper – A Handbook, 8th Ed
 
* Appl. Pharm. Tech. 3rd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Clinical Tech. 5th Ed.
 
* Clinical Tech. 6th Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
* Common Disease (VSPN Review)
 
* Exotic Med. Vet. Tech.
 
* Hematology Techniques
 
* SA Surg. Nursing (VSPN Review)
 
* Vet. Tech. Pocket (VSPN Review)
 
*Tasks Vet. Asst. 2nd Ed.
 
*Tasks Vet. Asst. 2nd Ed. (VSPN Review)
 
*Vet. Dermatology Nurses
 
*Vet. Tech. Dog Cat 2nd Ed.
Toxicology
Urology/Renal
Veterinary Education
Wildlife-Zoo Animals
Zoonoses

Date Published: March 11, 2011

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