Veterinarians are at a disadvantage when on a telemedicine video call with a pet owner: They can see the animal, but they can’t hear its heart rate, sense its pain level, or detect the subtle physiological changes that often signal something serious. And of course, dogs and cats cannot tell their owners when something hurts.

That void may soon change with PetPace, an AI/ML-powered health monitoring collar that was designed to provide veterinarians with continuous, real-time vitals and behavioral data during remote consultations.

PetPace works with Apple watches and provides information on pet’s pulse, HRV, temperature, respiration, activity, sleep, and health scores, all in one glance, according to the company. 

The collar comes along at an opportune time. The global veterinary telemedicine market, valued at $457 million in 2022, is projected to nearly triple to $1.23 billion by 2028, growing at an 18.3% CAGR, according to Markets & Markets Research. “Growth in this market is largely driven by the increasing adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, [and] both pet owners and the veterinary industry [have] significantly influenced the development and effectiveness of veterinary telemedicine,” the research firm said.

Yet, right now, most virtual visits still rely solely on what owners can describe and cameras can capture.

The PetPace health monitoring collar fully supports remote patient assessment, said Dr. Asaf Dagan, DVM, co-founder of the company. “During a telemedicine visit, a veterinarian gains access to the same quality of physiological data they’d collect in an exam room such as heart rate, respiration, temperature, activity, pain indicators, in real time. What’s more is we allow you as a vet to use our platform to give your patients your branded telemedicine services, integrated into our app with complete security protection.”

The insights are not just for convenience. Telemedicine already excels at triaging common concerns like skin conditions, vomiting, pain, behavioral issues. Research shows that clients who use telemedicine services are more likely to follow up with in-person visits and spend more during those appointments, according to PetPace. Adding continuous biometric data into the mix brings a greater significance to visual check-in.

“The clinical value of this technology when integrated with telemedicine cannot be underestimated with immediate access to objective data for pre, post-surgical procedures, disease management, drug monitoring, early detection of pain, stress and much more,” Dagan added.

Veterinary medicine is moving from reactive, acute care to proactive and preventative, and wearables are a core part of it, according to PetPace. By tracking metrics like activity levels in real time, veterinarians can now catch early signs of conditions such as osteoarthritis or post-surgical complications before they become emergencies.

The collar is designed not to replace veterinarians but to use AI and machine learning to obtain real-time biometric data during a telemedicine visit, the company said.