Dr. Matt Schaefer and Dairyland Veterinary Service began using Metron in May of this year.  Dr. Schaefer knew it was time to shift from film processing to digital as it was becoming difficult to find developers, the quality was poor, long turnaround times including multiple trips with retakes,  and it was too expensive.  In the two months since he has been working with Metron, "...it has already paid for 20% of the investment cost."

He has been utilizing many Metron features  including hoof and stifle analysis. He states, "With Metron, I am getting some of the best stifle images I have ever seen and the Metron Guided Mark-Up for the Hoof is very accurate leaving no doubts.  With the comfort of knowing this accuracy, it is a great aid to help me diagnose what needs to be done for the horse."   He works a lot with quarter horses and they have many hoof problems.  Metron has helped with finding the correct type of shoes needed to allow more blood flow to the hoof.  He performs Venograms on some of these horses and Metron provides excellent image quality for the evaluation process.  Dr. Schaefer will be doing a second session in about a month with a recent horse case so stay tuned for those results.  Metron allows him to place two images side by side using the morph capability to see the improvements in a computer generated video. 

Dr. Schaefer teams up with a number of farriers in his area.  The Metron features have allowed him to provide more detailed and confident treatment instruction to the farriers.  Another useful feature is the Metron Reports which he and his farrier partners are able to produce and provide to owners. He says the reports are a "big deal" and allow everything to be documented so everyone (he, the farrier and the owner) is on the same page when it comes to what is needed for the animal. In addition, Dr. Schaefer states, "I am not a computer expert - the software is well done.  Metron is so user friendly - all you have to do is use your brain and just follow the built-in prompts." 

While Dr Schaefer does most of the equine work in his large animal practice, he and his other five DVM colleagues at Dairyland Veterinary Service are involved in dairy productions medicine and comprise a blend of experiences including educational background and specialization in the dairy industry.  They are equipped to troubleshoot farm performance problems and assist in farm planning, as well as the traditional medical and surgical cases found in dairies today.  In addition to horses and cattle, they also work with goats, llamas and assist the local zoo.

They have used Metron on the bovine side of the business to evaluate issues with cattle stifles to see if the problems are in the soft tissue or other areas.  Metron also showed off its image processing strength when they were assisting with diagnosis at the local zoo.  There was a giraffe that was lame and the zoo was struggling to identify the problem.  Dr Schaefer was called to help and while taking x-rays with Metron, he learned the giraffe had a fused sesmoid which led to joint instability on the lateral side of the left front fetlock. This was causing lameness by pulling away and making abduction in the joint.  

The mission of Dairyland Veterinary Service is to be the best provider of Bovine and Equine Ambulatory and consultation services through exceptional services, increasing and sharing their knowledge base and providing progressive services with set goals and plans to exceed their client expectations while always acting as a team.  Metron helps them meet their goal of providing exceptional services.