AnimalScan Assumes Management of Animal MRI at CVM
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) center for pets and horses located at North Carolina State University’s Centennial Biomedical Campus is under new management.
AnimalScan, LLC, a provider of diagnostic services for veterinarians and pet owners, purchased Proctor & Gamble and ProScan Imaging interests in Iams Pet Imaging LLC, the majority owner of the 3,348-square-foot center. AnimalScan will now manage operations at the Raleigh facility as well as Iams Pet Imaging facilities in Vienna, Virginia and San Francisco, California.
The agreement does not change day-to-day activities, staffing, or the operating relationship the private facility has with the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine or its Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where the independent facility is physically located.
“We are pleased that Procter & Gamble and ProScan Imaging selected AnimalScan to purchase Iams Pet Imaging,” said Jim Stuppino, CEO of AnimalScan. “Coupled with our extensive experience in veterinary care and magnetic resonance imaging, this acquisition positions AnimalScan as the front-runner in high field imaging technology for companion animals.”
AnimalScan is committed to supplying both state of the art clinical and research imaging. Additional functionality will be added to the magnet that will give both clinicians and researchers access to imaging protocols not previously available. These advanced imaging keys, among others, include functional (fMRI), advanced angiography and dedicated cartilage imaging software.
Since its opening in August of 2004 as the area’s first MRI facility dedicated to animals, veterinarians have referred some 4,400 dogs and cats and more than 300 horses to be scanned at the Iams Pet Imaging Center. Patients also have included a few animals from the North Carolina Zoological Park.
“Veterinarians are so important to us,” said Dan Rajczak, general manager of Proctor & Gamble’s North American Pet Care business. “We’ll continue to partner with them around our core expertise of dog and cat nutrition. When it comes to imaging, we believe we can help veterinarians even more by enabling AnimalScan to take our pet imaging centers to the next level.”
MRI scans allow more rapid and accurate diagnosis of medical conditions in companion animals and horses to help referring North Carolina veterinarians as well as clinicians at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital better serve owners. The electronically stored images also provide functional information about body physiology of interest to veterinary researchers and a valuable instructional tool for CVM students.
AnimalScan said the acquisition fit well with their long term growth plans. “Diagnostic MRI centers for pets are a recent and growing trend in the U.S.,” said Salvatore DeFrancesco, chairman of the Board for AnimalScan. “Using the same state of the art MRI equipment found in hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide, we expect to expand into more major markets over the next 24 months.”
For more information, please visit animalscan.org or call 1-877-VET-MRIS (838-6747) or email info@animalscan.org.
Sept. 3, 2009
