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중노령견 심장 질환 추적시스템 개발한다
Heart disease tracking system to be developed for older dogs

부설동물병원-(주)케어식스, 심전도와 심탄도 장비 이용 추진 업무협약

JNU animal hospital to work with Care Six to monitor dog heart disease using ECG and BCG devices

Jeju National University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Care Six Co., Ltd. agreed to cooperate for the development of a heart disease tracking system for older dogs, the hospital announced Monday (April 12).

The veterinary education institute and the local animal biomedical sensor supplier met on Thursday (April 8) at Jeju National University and signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint development of the system using electrocardiogram (ECG) and ballistocardiogram (BCG) devices.

Under the agreement, the two parties will together develop a diagnostic support system for veterinary medicine, which uses artificial intelligence to sense abnormalities in the pet dog’s circulatory system. It has also been agreed that the remote monitoring equipment with a relevant service system will be devised to monitor heart diseases in the dog’s circulatory system.

The animal hospital will measure both the ECG and the BCG of the dogs visiting the hospital that have records of heart-related diseases, while remotely monitoring the patients to reduce the workload in veterinary medicine. The university institute will set the system as a bridgehead for securing world-class technologies and entering the global market.

Using the ECG in veterinary medicine has a disadvantage in that electrodes are easily detached from the animals and that animals must be shaved and attached with a patch to clearly deliver the electrical signals of the heart to the sensors. To improve convenience for the ECG users, the JNU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Care Six will develop a wearable device allowing the non-intrusive simultaneous measurement of the ECG and the BCG.

The development of the AI-based medical equipment is aimed at creating a competitive edge in the global veterinary medicine market, one of the fastest growing markets around the world. It is expected that the equipment will create business opportunities not just in Korea but also in other regions, such as the United States, Japan, Europe, and China.

According to the JNU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the veterinary medicine market has shown a steady expansion to meet the growing demand with the family getting smaller around the world. The recent dramatic growth of the related industries even led to the creation of compound words such as “petconomy” (pet and economy) and “petfam” (pet and family).

The currently available heart rate and ECG monitoring systems are all manufactured by foreign companies. The price in the market ranges from USD 2,000 to USD 3,000 whereas none of the products are applied with the IoT technology.

Under the latest agreement, the JNU Veterinary Teaching University and Care Six will secure global competitiveness by introducing the “made in Korea” strategy to supply inexpensive products with the best quality.