Quick Dips

BIPS are Breaking Out All Over

Three years after their invention, tiny plastic balls impregnated with barium are now commonplace x-ray tools in veterinary clinics throughout the world.

The balls are called BIPS [Quick Dips, June 1994], an acronym of barium-impregnated polyethylene spheres, and are the brainchild of Massey University small animal clinicians Grant Guilford and Frazer Allan. The pair spent two years developing the ingenious balls and refining their use in dogs and cats.

The 1.5mm balls are used to detect when a pet has an intestinal blockage such as a foreign object or cancer, and a variety of digestive tract disorders.

BIPS can be administered to animals in their food, avoiding the hassles associated with traditional methods of delivering liquid barium by stomach tube and syringe. The balls have the added advantage of behaving like food and can therefore be used to calculate the time taken to pass through the gut.

Larger balls (5mm in diameter) can be used to indicate partial obstructions, where smaller balls may sneak through, therefore increasing the chance of an accurate diagnosis.

Guilford says veterinarians from New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and Europe all use BIPS.

"They are also now used in primates in zoos. People have discovered it is easier to administer the small balls than other methods of barium delivery."

BIPS have been trialled on humans but this use is still in its infancy.

Guilford says the diagnostic tool has developed further during the past two years to pinpoint problems with the large intestine, such as constipation. The original product was used for diagnosis in the small intestine and stomach only.