NEH Opens New CT Facility in Newmarket
Computed Tomography (CT) at Newmarket Equine Hospital
Newmarket Equine Hospital (NEH) is excited to officially open its new CT facility this autumn. The facility houses a state-of-the-art wide-bore CT system capable of rapid image acquisition in both standing and anesthetised horses, with exceptional image resolution and detail.
The CT system is located in a new purpose-built Theatre 3, an extension to our existing surgery suite. We are now able to offer both standing and intraoperative CT imaging, providing new opportunities for advanced diagnostic imaging and CT-guided surgery.
History of CT at Newmarket Equine Hospital
NEH installed the first in-theatre CT system in Europe in 2012 and has since pioneered the incorporation of CT into the surgical workflow. Through this experience, we have realised significant benefits in surgical planning, particularly in the management and repair of fractures.
With experience gained from more than 3,000 CT examinations performed in theatre, NEH surgeons have developed new CT-planned and CT-guided surgical techniques. These advances have resulted in significant improvements in patient outcomes, with many horses now routinely returning to training and racing following injuries for which a return to racing would previously have been the exception.
CT in 2026
The new CT facility at NEH brings three major advancements over our previous system:
Rapid image acquisition in both standing and anaesthetised horses
A vastly wider bore diameter
Significant technological advances in image quality and detail
The wide bore enables imaging of parts of the horse that cannot be scanned using smaller CT units, including the pelvis, entire neck and upper parts of the limbs.
Combined with the ingenious design of the Qalibra CT system, which features a multi-directionally moving gantry, the new system makes it possible to obtain high-detail CT images of the lower limbs in standing equine patients.
The Canon Aquilion Exceed LB CT combines rapid image acquisition with exceptional image quality. Once the horse is positioned, a single region, such as the fetlock, can be scanned in just a few seconds.
The system also brings dual-energy CT to our patients, enabling the detection and assessment of bone bruising — an application that, until now, has been possible only with MRI.
CT in Surgery
NEH is the only equine hospital in the UK with a dedicated in-theatre CT system. The versatility and rapid image acquisition of the Qalibra CT system have been combined with purpose-built theatre facilities at NEH, including ceiling-mounted imaging screens, theatre lights and piped medical gases. This optimises the efficiency of CT use during surgery and maximises what can be achieved with intraoperative imaging.
By incorporating the new CT system into an extension of our existing surgery suite, we are able to bring advanced CT imaging directly to our surgical patients.
Unlike more common standalone CT imaging suites, our theatre-based set-up avoids the need for multiple anaesthetics for imaging and surgery. It also avoids the need to compromise surgical procedures by operating in facilities that were not purpose-built for surgery.
This integration of advanced CT imaging with our surgical facilities represents an important further step in the development of CT-guided diagnosis and treatment at Newmarket Equine Hospital.
