README file
Dataset Title: Signalment, clinical data, frequency of organ visualization and measurements obtained through a Focused Ultrasound (FUS) protocol, in healthy and sick neonatal foals.
Dataset Authors: 
•	Nicola Ellero (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0002-4788-7986);
•	Alessandra Maggi (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0009-0007-9884-4437);
•	Valeria Busoni (Diagnostic Imaging Section, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals and Equids, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart-Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium), ORCID (0000-0002-4128-4471);
•	Ilaria Imposimato (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0003-4444-8061);
•	Carolina Castagnetti (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0001-5533-7637);
•	Aliai Lanci (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0002-9828-4317);
•	Jole Mariella (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0003-4881-3898);
•	Francesca Freccero (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0002-1645-2111).
Data Set Contact Person:
•	Francesca Freccero (Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna, Italy), ORCID (0000-0002-1645-2111); Email address: francesca.freccero2@unibo.it. 
Data Set License: this data set is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.  
Publication Year: 2026
Data set Contents
The dataset consists of:
•	2 tabular file saved in .csv format
o	NEOFOALUS_Signalment_ClinicalData.csv
o	NEOFOALUS_OrganVisualization_Measurements.csv
•	1 README file saved in .rtf format
o	NEOFOALUS_README.rtf
Abstract
This dataset provides information on healthy and sick neonatal foals, including signalment, clinical data, and organ visualization and measurements obtained using a Focused Ultrasound (FUS) protocol based on 12 standardized thoraco-abdominal windows. It includes both qualitative and quantitative ultrasound findings from multiple acoustic windows, supporting research on ultrasonographic assessment of neonatal foals in clinical settings and providing a reference for physiological and pathological ultrasound findings in the early neonatal period.
Content of the files
•	File NEOFOALUS_Signalment_ClinicalData.csv contains signalment and clinical data of healthy and sick neonatal foals undergoing evaluation with Focused Ultrasound (FUS) protocol.
•	File NEOFOALUS_OrganVisualization_Measurements.csv contains data on organ visualization and measurements obtained using a Focused Ultrasound (FUS) protocol in healthy and sick neonatal foals.
File specifications
.csv files were created using the following specifications: 
•	Character set: UTF-8 
•	Field delimiter: semicolon (;)
Methodology
Forty client-owned foals under 30 days of age, born at or admitted to the Veterinary University Hospital (VUH) of the University of Bologna, Italy, during the 2024 foaling season, were included. For each foal, breed, sex (male/female), age (hours or days), weight (kg), diagnosis, and outcome (survived/euthanized) were recorded. Foals were classified as healthy or sick based on clinical examination, blood tests, and IgG levels.
Healthy and sick foals underwent a Focused Ultrasound (FUS) protocol once during hospitalization using a portable Philips CX50 ultrasound with a curvilinear 5–1 MHz transducer. The FUS protocol included twelve thoraco-abdominal windows (4 on the right side, 3 on the ventral abdomen, and 5 on the left side), performed without sedation and using 90° denatured ethyl alcohol for acoustic coupling. Each window was recorded as a 10-second video clip and a still image in DICOM format.
US images were subsequently reviewed for organ visualization and measurements, including organ diameters, intestinal wall thickness, and intestinal motility. In sick foals, specific ultrasound abnormalities were recorded. Image analysis data were collected in Microsoft Excel worksheet.
The data distribution was tested with Shapiro-Wilk test. Most of the data did not follow a normal distribution. The dataset contains median values for all measured variables.
List of variables
All the variables included in the dataset are self-explanatory. The only abbreviations that require explanation are listed in the table below:
NCD	Nephro-cecum-duodenal	
VLDX	Right ventro-lateral abdomen	
HDC	Hepato-duodeno-colic	
TCVDX	Right thoracic cranio-ventral	
HGV	Hypo-gastric ventral	
MGV	Meso-gastric ventral	
RSV	Retro-sternal ventral	
NS	Nephro-splenic	
VLSX	Left ventro-lateral abdomen	
SG	Spleno-gastric	
TCVSX	Left thoracic cranio-ventral	
CA	Cardiac	
n.v.	Not visualized	
n.m.	Not measured	
/	Not assessable	
Notes
The data are related to the following publication:
Ellero, N., Maggi, A., Busoni, V., Imposimato, I., Castagnetti, C., Lanci, A., Mariella, J., & Freccero, F. (2026). Development and application of a focused ultrasound protocol in neonatal foals. The Veterinary Journal, 315, 106543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2025.106543.