The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has announced a four-year collaboration with Felcana, a pet care start-up based in London, to support the continued research into pet traits and behaviors.
As a result of the partnership the two organisations will combine their expertise in a range of pet wearable health projects and enhance the levels of data related to tracking pet behaviors, habits and activities. The initiative is intended to result in an improvement in the welfare of animals in the future.
The collaboration will pool expertise at the RVC, along with the world-leading facilities of the structure and motion laboratory, with the artificial intelligence that Felcana has to offer. It is expected that the integration of these products and skills will help to predict, simplify and treat over 90 percent of health issues facing dogs and cats.
Richard Piercy, professor of comparative neuromuscular disease at the RVC, said: “We are very excited about this new collaboration with Felcana. We are confident that this new venture will improve prognosis made by vets in the future because pet owners will be more active in responding to changes in their pet’s behaviours.
“The data will also aid vets in identifying health conditions earlier and will therefore should improve the welfare of animals altogether.”
Monica Daley, senior lecturer in locomotor biomechanics at the RVC, added: “This is an exciting opportunity to leverage our expertise in comparative animal biomechanics and behavior to develop new algorithms to measure a pet’s activity and behavior patterns over time.
“Such approaches have enormous potential to improve pet welfare, allowing owners and clinicians to make informed decisions about care and treatment.”
James Andrews, founder and CEO of Felcana, said: “Digital advancements in the pet care have been lagging behind those in human healthcare, vets are therefore often reliant the abilities of observant pet owners to spot subtle changes in behaviors and habits.
“This exciting collaboration is therefore essential to improving innovative veterinary technology that will lead to more accurate diagnoses.”
