Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging has installed a Standing Equine MRI (sMRI) system at Clinique Vétérinaire du Moulin in Truchtersheim, France. The new system is located in an area previously not well served by standing MRI, with eight units now available to French equine vets. Due to travel restrictions impeding the ability to send a UK trainer, an existing Hallmarq customer in France stepped up to provide training in a hugely successful first for a company that champions education and collaboration.
Veterinary medicine has remained an essential service during the pandemic, but training Moulin’s staff to become Hallmarq certified operators necessitated a novel approach. Experienced Hallmarq trained sMRI operator Jean-Philippe Germain answered the call and travelled to Truchtersheim to train staff at the new site. With a decade’s experience in scanning horses with Hallmarq’s sMRI, Jean-Philippe was well placed to pass on his knowledge of how to use the system and acquire high quality clinical images that support equine lameness diagnosis.
Jean-Philippe worked with Hallmarq’s remote support team to commission the machine and delivered a four-day training programme in person at Clinique Vétérinaire du Moulin. Hallmarq’s team of Applications Scientists played a key role through virtual Q and A to reassure all parties that things were running smoothly and as expected.
Jean-Philippe is a regular at Hallmarq’s Annual User Meeting, held in Chamonix, France, and was enthusiastic to be part of this collaborative first, stating:
“It has been a thrilling experience to share my knowledge of Standing MRI. This shared experience has been enlightening and I hope I have passed on a few tips acquired in these past years, as well as my interest in this powerful imaging modality.”
Clinique Vétérinaire du Moulin’s Dr Benoît Blachon agrees. The process enabled the practice to get standing MRI up and running at a time when COVID might well have determined otherwise and the team is now able to offer the gold standard in lameness diagnosis safely, quickly and efficiently. Dr Blachon sees this as a huge advantage; until now, this unique diagnostic capability has not been available to horse owners in the area:
“In an unprecedented health period, Hallmarq was able to find an innovative and effective solution to training. The collaboration between their Support Team and Jean-Philippe Germain enabled quality training and transmission from an already experienced and certified Standing Equine MRI user. The whole experience has been invaluable to the team here at Moulin.”
Ongoing account management will be available to the team at Moulin to help build a profitable caseload, as with all customer sites. Q-Care, Hallmarq’s comprehensive customer support programme, includes ongoing and top-up operator training, remote and on-site service and support and marketing assistance. As a member of the ‘Hallmarq Family’ customers have exclusive access to their online Community area which offers a wealth of educational resources, the chance for peer-to-peer discussion, case study analysis and user meetings.
As uncertainty around travel continues, it looks likely that Hallmarq will utilise this method of training more frequently. Chief Customer Officer Annie Makin says:
“The COVID pandemic has certainly presented some challenges to the team here at Hallmarq in terms of system and training delivery. I’m delighted that our ethos of global partnership and collaboration has come to the fore and delivered yet another innovative solution to making clinical excellence in lameness diagnosis accessible to even more vets, owners and horses in France.”
The cooperation and goodwill of Hallmarq’s customers clearly demonstrate that we are, indeed, “all in this together!”
