Michael Walsh, DVM; Tracy Turner, DVM; Samuel Dover, DVM; Christopher Wood;
Linda Wood
Sea World of Florida, Orlando, FL; Clinical and Population Sciences,
Veterinary Teaching Hospital, St. Paul, MN; Sea World of Ohio, Aurora, OH; Equine Thermal
Imaging, Orlando, FL
The clinical diagnostician often depends on multiple techniques to gain a
full appreciation of the factors related to an illness. Evaluation of internal anomalies may
involve more commonly utilized techniques such as blood work, radiography, ultrasound and
endoscopy. External evaluation is often limited to visual inspection though thermography may be
applicable or an adjunct to external examination. Illness or injury which may result in
inflammation can result in temperature differences which nay be detected with heat sensitive
cameras. Conditions which have been observed include skin disease, tooth infection, sub-dermal
trauma, and abscessation. Thermography may also be utilized as a prognostic tool. A decrease in
inflammation may indicate therapeutic success and allow the clinician to lengthen or suspend
treatment. This technique has been used in cetaceans, pacific walrus, manatees and a leather
back turtle. The potential of thermography as a research tool has not been fully explored.