Veterinery Thermal Imaging (From The Oxford Times)

Veterinery Thermal Imaging

8:50am Thursday 15th July 2010 in

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When it comes to medical treatment and pain monitoring for domestic pets, many owners consider that nothing but the best will do. Now an Oxfordshire woman has become the first person in the UK to offer thermal imaging technology to check on injury and illness in small animals.

Helen Morrell, 34, (pictured right) based in Chinnor, has started up Veterinary Thermal Imaging, after training in the USA.

She said: “I became interested in thermal imaging after being made redundant from my job in financial services. I had studied animal science at Newcastle University when I was younger, and I viewed redundancy as the perfect opportunity to return to the industry.”

She added: “I realised there were only a few people in the country who offer thermal imaging, and then only to horses.

“It’s an emerging technique that has huge potential and is already widely used in the US across all animals, including domestic, livestock, zoo and wildlife. It seemed there was a huge gap in the market in this country.”

She contacted leading experts in the US and became the first woman to be accepted onto the thermal imaging course at Florida University. Thermal imaging is traditionally used in top racing stables and can highlight health problems including tendon, joint and nerve damage, which would otherwise be undetectable without expensive procedures such as x-rays and MRI scans.

Ms Morrell said: “I was very lucky to receive training from the pioneers of thermal imaging in Florida. And the silver lining to the cloud of being made redundant was I could use the redundancy money towards setting up.”

She added: “I feard that vets in the area would be a little sceptical at first, since apart from a few people working with horses, this is a new technique. But in fact I was surprised at how popular the idea is already.”

Ms Morrell started trading in late May and reckons the response so far is better than she envisaged in her business plan. She has a website and bought the necessary American equipment.

She said her main business is likely to be with horses, but she had already been called in to pinpoint specific anatomical areas of discomfort in dogs and cats.

She added: “Although much of my business comes from vets, I can also take orders directly from pet owners.”

Costs for thermal imaging using Ms Morrell’s camera cost about £110 for a horse, which she says makes her new service very competitive and potentially useful.

She was advised by Oxford solicitors Withy King when she set up her business.

Solicitor Simon Fisher said: “One issue Helen had was in using the word ‘veterinary’. As she is not a qualified vet, it was integral that this was made clear in the terms of business to avoid any confusion.”

o Contact: 0800 408 3891.

www. veterinary-thermal-imaging.com