If you've ever suffered through the process of attempting to diagnose a mystery lameness in your horse, you might be interested in a new system that is being released to veterinarians.
Kevin Keegan, a professor of equine surgery at the University of Missouri, has developed a device that he's calling the Lameness Locator. The system works by placing wireless sensors on the horse's head, croup, and front pastern. These sensors record the movement of the horse's torso and transmit the data directly to a tablet PC. The data is compared against a database of movement of sound horses and of horses displaying different types of lameness.
The system aims to provide objective data to assist veterinarians in diagnosis. Typically, vets are limited to using their own judgment based on what they see in a simple flexion test, and in cases of subtle lameness, that can be subjective.
"In some cases with mild lameness, or in cases with multiple limb lameness, even experts looking at the same horse may disagree on whether lameness is present or on its severity," says Keegan. "An objective method would be helpful to take some guesswork out of the evaluation."
Learn more about how the system works at www.equinosis.com