2016 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Fluoroscopy performed utilizing vertical positioning in modified Bailey chairs in dogs with ME provided clear information that allowed for individual evaluation of the most ideal food consistency, anticipated behavior of ingested water, and overall esophageal transit time for ingested food material. This information permitted informed decision-making with regards to what food type appeared to be best for individual dogs, whether providing drinking water at times separate to feeding was likely to be well tolerated, and how long the dog would need to remain in a vertical position after eating or drinking. The imaging also allowed for identification of concurrent disorders affecting food tolerance and allowed for more specific management strategies in the majority of dogs. The lack of a simple and widely available test for assessing gastrointestinal motility in dogs can make diagnosing disorders difficult. Ambulatory light-based imaging is an easy to use, novel gastrointestinal imaging technique performed by oral administration of a fully automated capsule-sized camera device (ALICAM) that is propelled by natural peristalsis. The time required for passage of the capsule through the stomach and small intestine can be determined based on correlation of images with an internal clock. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using ALI-CAM to measure gastric transit time (GTT) and small intestinal transit time (STT) in healthy dogs.