Just like their bipedal human counterparts, dogs and other four-legged pets are subject to accidents and infections that can rob them of their personality, leave them feeling sick, and lead to premature death.

Jeff Siems, a doctor of veterinary medicine and owner of Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging PS, at 21 E. Mission, says his practice uses imaging technology typically associated mostly with human health care to identify abnormalities and ailments in small animals.

"With better technology, we're able to get to the correct diagnosis in a more expedited fashion," says Siems. He adds that veterinarians "are starting to catch up to the human services," in terms of being able to locate a medical problem in an animal in a much more precise way.

Unlike other veterinary clinics in the Spokane area, Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging's clients are conventional veterinary practices that utilize the business's service to interpret medical images, perform scans, and alleviate their own workload. Additionally, Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging only performs scans on pets that have been referred to the business by other veterinarians and doesn't provide care itself.

The practice's newest piece of medical equipment, a used $250,000 computed tomography (CT) scanner, was acquired in mid-October, says Siems. Such scanners, in tandem with computer software, use numerous X-ray images to create 3-D pictures of internal body structures and can detect tumors, muscle inflammation, arthritis, organ trauma, joint problems, and other potential medical issues. Siems claims the CT scanner is the only one in the Spokane area being used on pets.

Siems says the scanner only will be used to treat dogs and cats, which are the most common household pets.

Animals are sedated while being scanned, and are injected with a contrast agent that aids the CT scanner in identifying organs. Siems says it typically takes about 15 minutes to scan an animal, and the cost normally ranges from $500 to $900, depending on how large the animal is and how large an area is scanned.

The unit is housed in a 35-foot-long motor home that sits alongside Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging's office. Siems leases about 2,200 square feet of space there from Pet Emergency Clinic PS, which owns the building and operates a practice there. Veterinary Surgical Specialists PS operates a practice in the building as well.

Siems says the three veterinary practices operate separately, but adds that they occasionally refer pet owners to each other's business depending on the pet's medical needs.

The motor home, which Siems says will remain located at the business and which was included in the price he paid for the scanner, is more than 13 feet tall and is encased with lead to protect people nearby from the X-ray beams that the machine uses. The motor home also is equipped with a mechanical lift that can be used to help get larger dogs in and out of the trailer if they are unable to use the stairs.

The interior of the windowless mobile unit looks like a room one would find in a modern hospital. The CT scanner fits comfortably in one end of the motor home, while a small control center where a technician operates the machine is set up at the other end.

The area that the technician works in is shielded by wood and glass to prevent unnecessary exposure to the scanner's X-rays.

Once an animal is scanned, the images are stored and transferred to Siems' office, where he's able to view them and make determinations about possible ailments that may be afflicting the patient.

Siems purchased the machine from Solon, Ohio-based Universal Medical Systems Inc., a company that supplies veterinary imaging equipment, and says it was used previously to perform imaging on human patients. After the unit's relocation to Spokane, a representative from Universal Medical Systems spent about a week here training Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging staff members to use the machine.

Introduction of more advanced CT scanners for use on people frees up older machines for the veterinary field, Siems says. "Human hospitals are expected to always have the top of the line" when it comes to medical equipment, he says.

There are no typical veterinary clients, says Siems, adding "it's always surprising" to see people from every type of income bracket choose to have their pet treated rather than euthanized.

Siems' practice also accepts pet insurance, and he notes an increasing number of people are obtaining such coverage. It has "become more prevalent in the last two to three years," he says.

Imaging specialists

Siems, who received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Oregon State University, says he was always attracted to the niche field of veterinary imaging.

"My interests were in ultrasound and radiology," he says. After completing a three-year residency in diagnostic imaging at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind., followed by two years as a faculty member there, Siems moved to Spokane in 1999 to open his imaging practice. He'd heard about the area through colleagues who had graduated from OSU with him.

The business, which currently employs eight people, including Siems and Dr. Sammy Ramirez, has two main components. One of those is image interpretation and involves either Siems or Ramirez viewing and interpreting X-rays sent to them by full-practice veterinary clinics throughout the western U.S. Those practices usually have standard X-ray equipment, and may have ultrasound technology as well, but use Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging's services to get additional opinions about what might be afflicting an animal, as well as to lighten their own workloads, Siems says.

He says about 75 percent of the images that he and Ramirez evaluate are sent through the mail by clinics, while the rest are received via e-mail and come from all over the country. An image interpretation costs around $50, he says.

The second component of the business is providing ultrasound services and the new CT scan services. Siems says ultrasounds cost $250, and are used to examine animals whose condition doesn't warrant the use of radiology. Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging sees between eight and 12 animals daily for those services, he says.

Most of the work that Siems does involves investigating possible disease in animals, rather than trauma caused by an accident.

Siems declines to disclose exact figures, but says Inland Empire Veterinary Imaging's revenues have been increasing 10 percent to 12 percent each year for the last three years. He says the workload became too much for one doctor to handle, and Ramirez joined the practice last February. Ramirez, who knew Siems from OSU, had been operating a veterinary radiology consulting business in Louisiana before relocating to Spokane.

Siems says he hopes the growth trend will continue and believes the practice's new CT scanner will increase its revenues and help it "practice a higher standard of care."