Use of computed tomography and radiation therapy planning software to develop a novel formula for body surface area calculation in dogs.

Background: Body surface area (BSA) can reflect metabolic rate that might normalize dosing of chemotherapeutics across widely variable weights within a species. The current BSA formula for dogs lacks height, length, and body condition.

Hypothesis: Computed tomography (CT) imaging will allow inclusion of morphometric variables in allometric modeling of BSA in dogs resulting in an improved formula for BSA estimation.