http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Zoo-always-gets-this-big-request-1824299.php
Houston Chronicle
31
Aug 2007
By SALATHEIA BRYANT
[...]
But perhaps one of the most unusual and persistent requests comes from
physicians, or patients, who hope to borrow the [Houston Zoo's] MRI or CT
scanners to examine obese people.
It's
a long-standing urban legend that zoos have jumbo versions of such equipment to
help diagnose illnesses in elephants and other huge creatures. But, to the
disappointment of some doctors, zoo officials must tell them they have no such
device.
During
her five-day shift this week, zoo public affairs coordinator Cathy Kuntz logged
four calls inquiring about an MRI scanner. She surveyed local medical
facilities to determine what they have and what their weight limits are, and
shared the information with callers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9649738/Obesity-crisis-will-force-hospitals-to-use-super-size-MRI-scanners-at-zoos.html
The
Daily Telegraph [UK]
1
November 2012
By
Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent
NHS
hospitals will have to use scanners from zoos because they are unable to cope
with severely overweight patients, surgeons have predicted. [...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/blog/2013/may/17/scanner-zoos-equipment-animals-obese
The
Guardian [UK]
17
May 2013
The
Guardian finds claims, counter-claims and outright denials as to whether
overweight patients have been scanned at zoos
James
Meikle
Urban
myth or unacknowledged elephant in the room? A consultant working in the x-ray
department at a west Midlands hospital has said London zoo had to scan patients who were too
obese for NHS equipment. [...]