It is preferable to do small animals in lateral recumbency with imaging from below because the quality of the image is enhanced. The heart tends to displace the lungs and give better access to the heart and great vessels. The specially constructed echo table needs to be impervious to fluids, lightweight, stable, easy to clean and have a variety of transducer cutouts for dealing with the wide range of small animals. The animal is not sedated if at all possible. Chemical restraint can alter the echo findings and this can make interpretation difficult.
Hair can significantly interfere with image quality.
Depending on size, it requires one or two people to adequately restrain an animal. Initially, animals can be restless at the start of an examination but given a little time they will settle down. ECG leads are attached to the appropriate limbs in order to record an electrical signal. The electrodes should be wetted with alcohol. The ECG is important for timing events in the echocardiogram.