It is very exciting for us here at E.I. Medical Imaging to keep the conversation going in the world of sharks as others continue to celebrate shark week. The Ibex® Portable Ultrasound has been a part of the research world as it pertains to sharks and other animals and we wanted to bring you another example of our assistance earlier in the year with shark research.
The same group assisting the OCEARCH research team we discussed earlier in the week from the University of Florida has been instrumental in researching the world of sharks. In May of this year, the group of researchers were in the Caribbean and performing research on Whitetip Sharks.
The picture at left is Brenda Anderson and her team using our Ibex® ultrasound system on an oceanic whitetip. Part of the testing they perform is using ultrasound to determine if the female shark is pregnant. This one in particular was not pregnant, and it was confirmed with both the CL3.8 transducer and the intravaginal probes.
The team in their expedition in the Caribbean confirmed 2 pregnant females, and several confirmed non-pregnant females. Brenda indicated that this is going to help a lot with the blood protein research she and her team has been working on for non-lethally determining pregnancy.
The research is more fully described in their article but more significantly I wanted to highlight the description of using the Ibex® Portable Ultrasound:
She deliberately approaches the boat and quickly begins feeding on small chunks of fish, as we prepare the gear needed to catch and tag her. After a few minutes she is hooked and then brought alongside our small work up boat. She measures in at 292 cm total length, or very close to 10 feet. As far as we know the largest oceanic whitetip ever measured was about 320 cm, so this animal is in an elite size class. And if that is not exciting enough as soon as the ultrasound is rubbed along her belly it reveals the spine of one of her offspring. She is definitely expecting.
The part that is most exciting is that this procedure is performed in the ocean! In many studies the procedure is lethal to the shark. They have found ways through the use of technology like the Ibex® and other equipment to do this without harming the shark. Great news for the shark!
We are definitely excited to be a part of many different research facilities and other locales be it in a dairy parlor, the horse pasture, in a zoo, or in the ocean as we see in this example. We know not only can our system withstand the rigors of what our customers put it through, we get to be a part of exciting adventures. Enjoy the rest of shark week. We hope to bring you more pictures of our own exiting adventures. Feel free to share with us your picture and exciting adventure news on our Facebook page or contact us with your ultrasound adventure pictures and we can post them here!
Photo by: Lance Jordan (Microwave Telemetry, Inc, Columbia, MD)
