PetPace Smart Collar Eases Pet Post-Op Pain
Burlington, MA (PRWEB) June 09, 2015 -- PetPace, the provider of an innovative collar for real-time monitoring of dog and cat health vital signs, today released the findings of a new medical case description. The case description, documents in detail how the PetPace collar helped manage post-op pain for Nix, a four-year old female Pitbull mix.
After suffering a torn ligament in her right knee, Nix underwent orthopedic surgery at TotalBond Veterinary Hospital in Gastonia, NC. “Following the operation,” said PetPace Chief Veterinary Scientist, Dr. Asaf Dagan, “one of our smart collars was used to closely monitor Nix’s recovery and her vital signs. For nearly three hours after the surgery, all of the sensors indicated that she was resting comfortably. But then the collar registered a sudden rise in her pulse rate, which were followed by behavioral indicators of pain in the form of restlessness and vocalization.”
The PetPace smart collar also detected a sharp decrease in the dog’s Heart Rate Variability (HRV) level. The HRV monitor built into the PetPace collar provides a statistical measurement of the difference in time intervals between heartbeats. Low HRV readings have been shown to correlate with pain in both humans and animals.
At the same time, the smart collar’s movement sensor picked up an acute increase in Nix’s activity level, suggesting restlessness, an indicator of pain and stress. As a result of receiving these timely signals from the collar, the attending veterinarian was able to quickly administer a dose of morphine, which enabled Nix to relax and continue her smooth recovery. Minutes after the morphine injection, Nix’s pulse, HRV and activity levels all returned to normal levels.
“Recognizing and assessing pain in dogs and cats is essential to their well-being, yet it remains a challenging task" says Dr. Mark Epstein, owner of TotalBond Veterinary Hospitals in NC and past-president of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management. "The PetPace collar technology may be a first in our ability to provide real-time, objective indication of post-surgical pain in pets, thus improving care for patients in the hospital or at home,” he continued.
“This case study of Nix’s pain management joins an expanding body of research that supports the potential value of the PetPace smart collar in monitoring pet patients for pain and discomfort, and contributing to a high level of medical pet care,” concluded Dr. Dagan.
About PetPace
PetPace was founded in 2012 to bring peace of mind to pet owners and prevent unnecessary pain and suffering for dogs and cats through improved pet health and quality of life. PetPace specializes in the remote monitoring of pet vital signs by utilizing advanced analytical methods and alerting models. The company’s low power, wireless collar is fitted with an array of sensors that report abnormal vital signs within established physiological and behavioral parameters. Once an abnormal sign or behavior is detected, a sophisticated Cloud-based analytical engine evaluates the signs and if needed, sends an immediate alert regarding any suspected condition. This allows the owner or the vet to take pre-emptive action to protect the pet’s health. For more information about PetPace real-time pet health monitoring, visit http://petpace.com/
Gal Steinberg, PetPace, http://www.petpace.com, +1 (617) 480-2926, [email protected]
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