Dave McRuer sees around 2,300 patients a year, ranging from the youngest infants to wizened, experienced hunters. They come to him with a wide range of injuries, from broken bones to displaced retinas. In March of 2011, McRuer and his team made the transition from analog to digital radiography, both to better serve this wide array of patients and to communicate what they’ve learned more easily with colleagues around the world. “Our patients are windows on the environment: what’s happening to them is happening everywhere,” he says.

As director of veterinary medicine at the Waynesboro-based Wildlife Center of Virginia, McRuer may find himself treating an injured deer, a newborn bald eaglet, a turtle that’s been run over by a lawnmower and a clutch of reptiles, all in the same day. “We see any kind of native animal from Virginia other than venomous snakes, which people don’t bring to us often anyway,” he says. “We see pretty much every other species, depending on the time of year. At this time of year we’re seeing a lot of baby animals — baby rabbits, baby birds. We have about 25 deer fauns on the premises that we’ll raise over the summer and then release.”

The Wildlife Center’s mission is twofold: to heal injured animals so that they can survive again in their natural habitats, and to share its experiences with these species with veterinary hospitals around the world. In March, it acquired an XL2 radiography system from Fujifilm Medical Systems USA, Stamford, Connecticut, marking the veterinary hospital’s transition from analog to digital imaging. McRuer says the digital system offers multiple advantages to the Wildlife Center, and foremost among these are its advanced imaging capabilities. “The enhanced images give us a much better appreciation of what’s happening with our patients compared to film,” he says. “We got an advanced plate that gives high resolution that has opened up a whole new world to us.”

As an example, McRuer cites one of the Wildlife Center’s smallest categories of patient: the hummingbird. “Hummingbirds often break their shoulders,” he notes. “Before, we could never tell which bone was broken. Now we can see those tiny little fractures. It’s just spectacular.”

The image enhancement features proffered by the CR system also mean fewer retakes of less-than-perfect radiographs — which translates into safer treatment of patients that are already fighting for their lives. “We do most of our x-rays on anesthetized patients, and the amount of anesthesia you need for most animals is very hard to calculate,” McRuer says. “Almost all of our patients are coming in injured, so they’re already compromised. If we can alter the image afterward and still get the information we need, that’s less time that the patient is under anesthesia, which is less stress on the patient and less risk.”

Finally, having digital images helps the Wildlife Center exceed at the educational component of its mission. “One of the biggest factors in our decision to make the change to digital was the teaching opportunities the modality brought to the table,” McRuer says. “There are approximately 300 wildlife rehab centers across Virginia, and we’re a referral hospital for them. In order to keep up the relationship, we send images to them as a learning opportunity. It’s great continuing education, and we can share the information much more easily now.”

The Wildlife Center also posts images to its website and blogs, disseminating the information around the world. “We routinely have a ‘What’s New’ blog highlighting a patient or two, and the x-rays go up online,” McRuer says. “Our traffic last month was 200,000 to see certain patients. Sharing this information trains veterinarians and teaches the public how to prevent these kinds of injuries in the future.”

He concludes, “We’re teaching the world to care about, and care for, wildlife in the environment.”