Thermography of the Elephant Foot

Foot problems are seen in 50% of captive Asian and African elephants, and constitute the single most important ailment of captive elephants.  Therefore, the prevention of foot problems is obviously preferable to treatment; with chronic foot problems a concern with respect to animal welfare and interventions (e.g., surgical procedures) resulting in high costs and risks.  Methods for evaluating the condition of an elephant’s foot have included such methods as photo/video documentation, ultrasonography, x-rays and thermography.

According to the AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care (2001; updated May 5, 2003), page 6 reads as follows:

“3.2.11. Baseline foot radiographs or thermographs of all adult elephants must be taken and kept on file.  In some facilities, it may be appropriate to annually monitor selected elephants (i.e., those that have a history of chronic foot problems) (Csuti et al., 2001).”

Our company, Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions, LLC, is positioned to provide thermographic imaging of your elephant’s feet followed by a detailed report and analysis of the thermal gradients for each foot.  Archived files can be compared among previous images to assess thermal changes of the foot, or used to identify “areas of concern” in need of further clinical (veterinary) diagnostics. 

• 2007 Thermal Imaging Rates.
  
• What is Thermography?
  
• What Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions offers.
  
• Our Experience.

What is Thermography?

• A non-invasive temperature monitoring tool for assessing body surface temperature gradients through infrared imaging. Specifically, thermography detects asymmetric temperature gradients that can be used as an indicator of underlying physiological anomalies and/or pathologies.

• Thermal imaging can be conducted from a distance (if needed) with no direct animal contact of the device on the foot.  The elephant’s feet are positioned in the same orientation as they would be for routine foot trimming and care.

What Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions offers:

• Experience in elephant foot thermography and image analysis.

• A professional thermographic report for each elephant combined with a comprehensive analysis of thermal gradients for each foot as a permanent record for your institution’s elephant management and care programs.

• An archived image analysis record of each foot which can be compared to future images of the foot to aid the elephant manager in monitoring foot health and to provide more information for the veterinary clinician for diagnostics.

• Professional thermography services and reasonable rates.

Our Experience:

• Dr. Scott Willard and Anna Chromiak are Members of the American Academy of Thermology (AAT).

• Dr. Willard and Anna Chromiak frequently attend thermal imaging meetings and workshops, and have more than 6 years of field experience using Meditherm and FLIR Thermal Imaging cameras.

• Dr. Willard and Anna Chromiak presented an abstract at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Elephant Managers Association (EMA) on the use of thermography for assessing the thermal profile of the elephant foot based on two years of thermal assessments and various types of image analysis: Elephant Managers Association 2006 Annual Conference, October 15 – 18, 2006, Albuquerque, NM; Abstract: p. 19.

• Dr. Willard’s work using thermography in a zoological setting was profiled in an article in the AZA Communique magazine (See March 2005 issue, p. 10 – “What’s New and ‘HOT’ in Zoo Technology: Thermography”.

• Dr. Willard has published more than 15 abstracts and other research papers on the use of thermography in domestic (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep) and non-domestic (elephants, red deer, etc.) species.

2007 Thermal Imaging Rates:

Note: Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions does not diagnose or treat conditions of the elephant foot.  We provide thermal imaging services and thermal image interpretive assessments which should be further evaluated by the elephant manager and attending veterinarian for diagnostics.  We provide a professional record in the form
of a thermal imaging report for each elephant and an electronic copy of all images acquired during the imaging session for your files and for comparison to future (semi-annual or annual) thermography assessments.

2007 Rates (for imaging only, see Additional Travel Expenses below):

Number of Elephants:                  Fee (Each Elephant)       Price per Foot   

To schedule an imaging session for your elephants, obtain a quote, or get more information about the use of thermal imaging in profiling the elephant foot please contact us at info@rams-online.com

Additional Travel Expenses:

Additional expenses not included in imaging fees (see above) are travel to the location at a negotiated rate (quote available upon request) which may include:

• Airfare (current market price) or car mileage if < 6 h from Starkville, MS
  (our mileage rate is $0.48 per mile)
  
• Rental car (current market price; if required or needed)
  
• A $45/day meal allowance
  
• A $150 per night lodging allowance
  (or less depending on hotel availability, location, etc.)

Travel costs will be quoted prior to the trip, are negotiable, and any overage will be absorbed by Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions.  Therefore, you will know exactly what the total costs for imaging and travel are before the scheduled session.  By having standard imaging charges (see above) plus a negotiated travel stipend, this keeps us from overcharging for imaging when travel occurs regionally within a reasonable distance, and undercharging for travel when imaging is requested at a far distant location.  This assists us in stabilizing service costs, and assists you by allowing us to provide the lowest cost for imaging your elephants as possible.

Also note that 2007 Rates are per location.  However if more than one location is within a reasonable distance (i.e., < 3 hours drive) from one another, and we (or you) can coordinate the dates for imaging to coincide among institutions, then applicable volume discount pricing for imaging may apply for all institutions coordinated (see above).

A FREE Offering – Additional Thermal Imaging for Your Use:

Once we have concluded imaging of the elephant feet, we will provide additional thermal imaging (up to 20 images or 1 hour of imaging time) of whatever subjects you would like (e.g., full body images of the elephants, other species in the collection, people, structures, etc.).  These images may be used by your institution for display, public relations, marketing or other novelty purposes, and will be provided to you in an electronic image format you prefer.  Examples of this imaging may include:

Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions will provide the images taken at your facility and those of the elephant foot thermograms to your institution for your use without restriction as part of the service.  However please note that Remote Animal Monitoring Solutions also reserve the right to use any images obtained during the elephant foot and supplemental imaging sessions in our own marketing, print sales, or other outlets without restriction unless otherwise agreed upon.

For more information or to schedule an imaging session for your elephants please contact us at info@rams-online.com

If you have further interest in thermal imaging prints of elephants or other species please see our Thermal Art link for more thermal pictures.