Toshiba America Medical Systems has donated an ultrasound system to Gorilla Doctors to aid gorillas in the wild.
Gorilla Doctors is using the Viamo ultrasound scanner to help save the lives of injured and ill gorillas and to sustain their populations in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The system is the first in the project's 26 years to be used on gorillas in the wild, greatly improving the quality of veterinary care, according to Gorilla Doctors.
The portability and battery operation of the scanner allow the team of doctors to image in the field, which requires many hours of trekking up steep terrain and enables only limited examination times, the organization said.
The Viamo system is used to evaluate viability of limbs after ensnarement and to conduct cardiac profiles and general abdominal scans, as well as for reproductive assessment.
