Doppler Echocardiograph, or Ultrasound

Doppler Echocardiographs allow veterinarians to visually determine the condition of an animal’s heart. Valvular or muscular defects can be detected with this equipment. The procedure is non-invasive. A transducer, or “wand” is moved across a shaved area. Sound waves bounce from the transducer to the body’s organs and back again. The reflected sound waves create a picture on a monitor that a trained veterinarian can interpret. Doppler echocardiographs transmit images that help the cardiologist determine the direction and speed of blood flow in the in the heart and blood vessels.
Cardiologists look at a patient's heart via an echocardiogram, a non-invasive ultrasound procedure that provides a cross-sectional view of the animal's heart.	Echocardiogram being performed on a chinchilla
	A two-dimensional echocardiographic image (long axis view) from a dog with pulmonic stenosis. The right ventricular wall is abnormally thickened. RVW: right ventricular wall, IVS: interventricular septum, LVW: left ventricular wall.
	A Doppler echocardiographic image of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) of a dog with pulmonic stenosis (cross-sectional view). Turbulent blood flow in the RVOT caused by obstruction at the pulmonic valve is mapped in orange, yellow, and green. RV: right ventricle, AO: aorta, LA: left atrium, RVOT: right ventricular outflow tract.

Doppler Echocardiograph (Ultrasound)