Using a special piece of MRI equipment, doctors from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine were able to remove a dangerous brain tumor from Callie, an eight-year-old English setter.

Using high-tech surgical equipment called the Brainsight MR frameless neuro-navigation device, MU surgeons were able to take an MRI of Callie’s brain and create a 3D model. The model allowed the MRI to guide the doctors to exactly where their instruments needed to go to remove as much of Callie’s tumor as possible.

“This equipment not only assists in open surgeries like Callie’s, but allows us to pinpoint any region of the brain with extreme accuracy, allowing us to perform biopsies through a hole the size of a pencil,” says Fred Wininger, an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the college.

Callie is currently undergoing radiation therapy to prevent the tumor from returning. She is able to take long walks and the MU doctors believe she will live several more years. munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2012/0418-mu-veterinary-surgeonsuse- advanced-mri-technology-to-locate-dangerous-tumor/