Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging announces that Dan Brown has been promoted to vice president of North America for the UK-based company.

Brown, who started with Hallmarq as business development director in 2010, is responsible for the sales and marketing of the company’s standing equine MRI, as well as management of both equine and small animal PetVet MRI businesses in North America. According to Brown, the role of MRI as an important diagnostic tool and veterinary service has grown significantly in the last decade, allowing companion animal and equine veterinarians to not only diagnose problems more accurately, but also focus more on effective therapies.

“Right now, treatment options are catching up to our diagnostic capabilities,” Brown says. “With MRI use in horses, for example, we can now diagnose the exact source of lameness more accurately than ever. And with the growing demand for standing treatments, such as in the placement of orthopedic screws, it just makes sense to offer an MRI option that also eliminates the potential for complications from anesthesia. This is a real concern among horse owners.”

Brown, who also has a professional diploma in marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing in the United Kingdom, envisions a time when MRI systems will catch up to human medicine in terms of ease of access. “Ultimately, I think it makes veterinarians’ lives easier and patient care better when veterinary-specific small animal and equine imaging systems are more readily available to practitioners, and they don’t have to compromise,” he says. “At the same time, we continue to look at other imaging modalities with the knowledge that accurate, successful treatment and wellbeing of the equine and companion animal patient can only come from veterinarians and clients having access to accurate diagnostics.”

Lastly, Brown sees one of the biggest opportunities for improvement in equine care coming from the performance horse industry, specifically involving race horses.

“Catastrophic injuries to horses, especially race horses, are very high profile and public. They are clearly a huge welfare issue and create a bad public image of the sport,” he explains. “There’s a lot of work being done to prevent these injuries, with much more work to do, and many stakeholders would need to agree to any changes. But it’s something the equine industry needs to address for the welfare of the animals.”