International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force recommendations for a veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in veterinary practice. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is regarded as an important diagnostic test to reach the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy. However, given that the diagnosis requires the exclusion of other differentials for seizures, the parameters for MRI examination should allow the detection of subtle lesions which may not be obvious with existing techniques. In addition, there are several differentials for idiopathic epilepsy in humans, for example some focal cortical dysplasias, which may only apparent with special sequences, imaging planes and/or particular techniques used in performing the MRI scan. As a result, there is a need to standardize MRI examination in veterinary patients with techniques that reliably diagnose subtle lesions, identify post-seizure changes, and which will allow for future identification of underlying causes of seizures not yet apparent in the veterinary literature. There is a need for a standardized veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol which will facilitate more detailed examination of areas susceptible to generating and perpetuating seizures, is cost efficient, simple to perform and can be adapted for both low and high field scanners. Standardisation of imaging will improve clinical communication and uniformity of case definition between research studies. A 6–7 sequence epilepsy-specific MRI protocol for veterinary patients is proposed and further advanced MR and functional imaging is reviewed

InVeST proceedings, 10-12 April 2017

Flipping the classroom is an instructional model in which students gain basic knowledge outside of class, followed by active learning in class. At Ghent University, teaching clinical skills on simulators was recently incorporated in the curriculum in a new compulsory course. Due to the large number of students, time for supervised skills laboratory practise is limited. Therefore, the flipped classroom model was used to maximize an active learning experience. Online ‘learning paths’ and 1-2 hour practical sessions on surgical skills, injections, anesthesia and reproduction were developed for the fifth year students. Learning paths include text, pictures, videos of the skills, links to background information, a forum and a compulsory pre-class test, for which a minimum score of ≥75% was required. All students (n=292) had followed the session on surgical preparation and asepsis. The learning path was viewed by 287/292 students prior to the practical, for 38±24 minutes (range 2-134 minutes). However, some students reported more time spent on preparation than recorded, using a printout of the text. The test score of ≥75% was attained by 290/292 students, with a median of 2 attempts (range 1-16). Subjective instructor feedback indicated that students were well-prepared. Informal student feedback indicated the need for additional live demonstrations, especially for complex skills. Future improvements to the learning paths could be including slow step-by-step demonstration of the skill with narration as well as stimulating narration of the steps by the student, by including this into the test.Poster presented at the 5th International Veterinary Simulation in Teaching Conference, 10-12 April 2017, held at the Intundla Conference Venue, Pretoria, South Africa.Sponsored by Virtalis, South Africa. Dept. of Higher Education & Training, Anatomoulds, Veterinary Simulator Industries, National Research Foundation, University of Pretoria. Faculty of Veterinary Science, Zoetis and Breed 'n Betsyab201

Brain SPECT in the behaviourally disordered dog

Dogs can be used as research models in order to contribute to a better understanding of human neuropsychiatric disorders and to explore treatment options. In general, smaller laboratory animals, most often mice and rats, have been extensively used. Nevertheless, the implementation of larger animal (e.g. dogs) models has several important advantages. Their larger brain size omits the need for dedicated equipment (micro-PET or micro-SPECT), and the larger portion of the frontal cortex (crucial to behaviour regulation) in particular allows superior investigation of this area. They can further be used to investigate normal physiology and interaction of several neurotransmitter systems and the effects of drugs on brain function and chemistry. In this regard, they can also be used to obtain information on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of newly developed drugs and the dosage at which maximal response and least side effects occur. Finally, natural animal behavioural models of disorders can be used to enlighten the biological base of several human neuropsychiatric disorders. In this chapter, an overview will be provided on the use of functional brain imaging in dogs suffering from impulsive aggression