Drones and veterinary medicine.

What's that hovering at your shoulder? Oh yeah, the diagnostic test you ordered a few minutes ago.You may have seen a neighbor playing with a drone in the backyard or someone flying one around town. The toy remote-controlled helicopter of yesteryear is growing up and into a device that may revolutionize some components of veterinary practice. A drone may also be called an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), but the U.S. government has adopted the term unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Drones are traditionally powered by gas, jet fuel or rechargeable batteries .Future commercial uses for drones include virtual reality video tours of foreign countries, viewing vacation real estate, virtual attendance at outdoor sporting events and, most important for you, several veterinary applications Today, the closest thing to functioning veterinary drones are those used by the local government in Houston, Texas, to track stray dogs.Read more

Play Pokémon go veterinary-style.

The world is turning to games to help solve some of the challenges.There are games developed to help decode the human body,some to train the mind while some are diet games to help with weight issues. Pokémon can be found in all corners of the earth,but you can streamline your search to certain habitats to catch rare creatures.The Pokémon you encounter will depend on where you are in the real world. Walk along a canal or river, and you'll encounter more water-types; a park might yield more grass-types. The veterinary knowledge is spot on as you know where to find certain creatures,and win. The various industries are leveraging on the power of games to get business moving,enhance more interaction with customers and basically create brand recognition and thereby increasing sales.The plot of every game console is different but one thing is sure if you get the plot you win always and to do this you must know the characters in the plot,understand everything about them and you win. This is the key to the Pokemon go, you must know the different environment that houses rear creatures and access them for your catch. How to play and win , first choose a character,name and customize your character. You can choose male or female avatars, and choose their skin tone and some other basic aesthetic features. You'll also pick out an outfit – there are essentially three complete costumes, but the parts can be mixed and matched to create a more individual look. You'll level up as a Pokémon Trainer as you progress, which makes more Pokémon available for capture and allows you to take on gym battles. one of the original starter trio from the original Pokémon Red and Blue, Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle ,but you can over turn this by choosing pikachu as starter.Learn how here; . The method of catching Pokémon is probably the biggest difference between Pokémon Go and the core games. While you'll still encounter them in the wild, you won't actually battle them Instead, successful capture is determined by the Pokémon's level, the type of Pokéball used, and even your throwing technique.

How Virtual Reality is Changing Veterinary Medicine.

In a small, windowless room, four veterinarians simultaneously tie sutures, biopsy a liver, and perform minimally invasive abdominal surgery. No, this is not a typical operating room. It is a veterinary laparoscopic training laboratory—the first of its kind in the nation. Nearly four years ago, Dr. Boel Fransson, a board-certified small animal surgeon, designed what is now the Veterinary Applied Laparoscopic Training (VALT) laboratory at Washington State University. Although laparoscopic simulation training has been widely used in human medicine for more than a decade, similar training had not been available in animal medicine. A laparoscope is essentially a telescope used by surgeons to see inside body cavities while doing minimally invasive surgery through tiny incisions, often called keyholes. “Our laboratory is the first in the country to develop veterinary simulation training in laparoscopic surgery,” said Dr. Boel Fransson, director of the VALT laboratory. “I was very interested in technique development for the additional skills required for the minimally invasive surgeries we perform in clinical practice here at WSU.” 

 Laparoscopic surgery is being used more often in veterinary medicine because of the same advantages to patients as seen in humans. Risks associated with traditional open surgery are minimized, pain is reduced and easier to control, and patients often recover much more quickly. It is also a valuable tool that allows veterinarians to run diagnostic tests they may not otherwise be able to perform. Although the American College of Veterinary Surgeons requires training in minimally invasive surgical techniques, there was no other learning platform for surgeons in training except to participate in actual surgeries with a mentoring surgeon. Dr. Fransson and her colleague, Dr. Claude Ragle, a WSU board-certified equine surgeon and pioneer in equine laparoscopy, believe additional training outside the operating room is necessary to achieve higher competency levels. More training also means less risk to the patients Proper training in laparoscopic surgery can be simpler and safer than other surgical techniques. Training in the VALT lab, surgeons become accustomed to using actual surgical tools in small spaces while watching the magnified procedures on a television screen. Practicing the precise movements of laparoscopic surgery also helps the techniques to become second nature. Additional training minimizes unnecessary movements, surgery time, and increases accuracy. 

 The VALT lab began training veterinarians in 2008 with very basic equipment, such as a box trainer that uses real instruments to teach hand-eye coordination necessary for routine procedures such as suturing. Dr. Fransson later added canine abdomen models that train surgeons in the feel and size of the abdominal cavity and organs. The virtual reality, or VR, trainer was added to the lab earlier this year. After working on the VR trainer, surgeons receive printouts to learn how their techniques can be more efficient and safe. The software tracks the surgeon’s performance and provides an assessment of the surgeon’s skills. learn more @ please visit vcs.vetmed.wsu.edu/Research/VALT-Lab.