Radiology database provides thousands of nontraditional species’ images

During a routine workday, a zoo veterinarian may need to perform diagnostic imaging on a species they've rarely imaged in the past.

To help address these diagnostic challenges, a group of zoological institutions created the Zoo and Aquarium Radiology Database (ZARD) to provide a centralized online reference tool.

This collaborative effort among institutions contributed thousands of digital radiographs and CT scans preapproved by board-certified veterinary radiologists as “normal” for each species. So far, around 200 species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have been included. They range from the African spurred tortoise to the violet turaco to the white-bellied pangolin.

ZARD is housed at Brookfield Zoo Chicago (BZC) in Brookfield, Illinois. However, the database is available globally to clinical veterinarians working with zoological institutions along with any board-certified radiologist, zoo medicine faculty at veterinary colleges, veterinary and veterinary technician students, zoo and radiology interns and residents, and other veterinary specialists who consult for these institutions.

The cloud-based, open-access resource will allow veterinary professionals to compare their diagnostic images to a set of approximately 10 boarded radiologist-reviewed studies for that species.

Currently, clinical veterinarians or veterinary radiologists in the zoo community consult with colleagues or the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Listserv to find a reference study, explained Dr. Joanna Webb, veterinary imaging database manager at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. The ZARD brings everything into one accessible location.

She notes, though, “Following the in-house evaluation, consultation with a board-certified radiologist is still recommended ̶ similar to how we utilize textbooks and radiologists in companion animal practice.”

The ZARD steering committee comprises of seven institutions: Brookfield Zoo Chicago; Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance; Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment; Saint Louis Zoo; San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Each institution agreed to share its collection of diagnostic images, totaling approximately 60,000 radiograph and CT studies.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The ZARD plans on hosting 10,000 reference imaging studies across more than 500 species once fully completed. The committee is considering developing a second phase of the ZARD or second database that provides access to reference imaging representing common disease states, Dr. Webb said, who is a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine and helped launch the database.

“We hope to empower more radiologists to read diagnostic imaging studies from nontraditional species,” she said.