New x-ray system needed – $110,000
The Duke Lemur Center has a new and “highest priority” major gift opportunity within its veterinary department. This is a $110,000 need/opportunity, and we would be thrilled to recognize the donor with a special plaque on or beside the machine during its lifetime.
Here is a note from our senior veterinarian, Bobby Schopler:
The veterinary team at the Duke Lemur Center is seeking a donation to make possible the purchase of some very important pieces of equipment for the veterinary department that will provide a more advanced technology to support the care of the lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center.
Our current x-ray machine is very old and could stop working at any time — leaving us without one of the most important diagnostic tools in veterinary medicine. A new unit will allow us to image with less radiation and less anesthesia time. The new system would be DR (Digital Radiology) – which means:
* Instantaneous images (no waiting for an image to develop as we do now – currently takes about 2 minutes per image)
* The detail of DR digital imaging is tremendous and we will be able to magnify images without losing detail, thus improving our diagnostic capabilities
* The images are easy to look at, send off for second opinions, store digitally, and refer to remotely
Some of our animals are so small that we will be able to take x-rays of their hands using dental x-ray equipment (mouse lemurs and fat tailed dwarf lemurs). Most of the animals we x-ray are larger and require a standing table machine. All this adds up to an improved quality of care for the lemurs, and better health long term.
Thank you for your help!
Ultimately, this opportunity will provide not only vastly better tools for the vet team and improved care of our lemurs, but also improved efficiency that will impact other areas of our work, including an enhanced capacity for analysis within non-invasive research projects. If you are interested in more information, please call Mary Paisley at mary.paisley@duke.edu or 919.401.7252.
