Medical imaging has come a long since X-rays. With the latest technology, doctors can now even identify disease without invasive surgery. Today we'll learn more about the latest advancements in veterinary imaging in this edition of Pet Pointers.

Dr. Victor Rendano is board certified in both radiology and radiation oncology, and has been a veterinarian for over 35 years. He has seen veterinary imaging go from basic X-rays to digital imaging that enables him to pin point a problem and develop a course of treatment.

"First of all the technology has gotten better so we can se disease much earlier and manage it much sooner. Many years ago with conventional radiology it was standing on the outside of a building, you had a good idea of the structure of the building but no idea what was going on in each room. With the new technology we can now look into each room and better define what is happening in each room," Rendano said.

There are now more options than ever in imaging technology available for veterinarians to use when trying to diagnose a specific problem. Utra/sound with color Doppler, digital radiographs and CT scans are just some of the tools used to find damaged bone or tissue, deteriorated by cancer. Having seen so much change in the field thus far, Dr. Rendano sees unlimited progress in imaging.

"The sky is the limit now. I think there is going to be more and more refinement in the different entities. With ultrasound, refinement in the quality of the image, and with cat scans we used to take 15 minutes to scan head to toe, now we can do the whole body in 15 seconds. It's a lot more refinement of knowledge and image quality," said Rendano.

Although many of these technologies are not widely available, they are fast becoming the standard in larger animal hospitals across the country.