Asto CT, a company working on a CT scanning system for horses, has just completed a round of seed funding amounting to $200,000.

This Madison-based company, led by CEO David Ergun, is in the midst of creating a system called Equina, which can perform detailed x-rays on a horse while it is standing, a feat not currently possible. The need for this kind of technology arises from racing horses frequently fracturing their legs.

“CT has always been an ideal tool for finding fractures before they become too catastrophic,” said Ergun.

To be able to perform CT scans on an upright horse would be “very attractive to veterinarians,” according to Ergun.

Why? One, horses are sensitive to anesthesia. If a veterinarian knocks a horse out for a complicated scanning process, the horse can panic as it comes out of its sedated state. Read the full story here.