Mars Petcare Launches Large-scale Pet Health Study

Mars Petcare recently kicked off a massive new canine health study that is expected to reveal connections between pet behavior, activity, and health.

The study, known as the Pet Insight Project, is one of the largest technology-facilitated studies of pet health and will involve the study of over 200,000 dogs over the course of three years. The study will employ the Whistle pet tracker to collect activity and behavioral data from dogs. That data will then be combined with data collected about the dog’s health and analyzed using machine learning-based techniques. The hope is that behavior and activity data can be used to predict changes in pets’ health and allow owners to have advanced warning of those health issues.

“Innovative projects like Pet Insight Project are exactly what this industry needs to drive care forward. Technology and big data are powerful tools that could radically alter how we deliver veterinary care. This notion of transforming veterinary medicine is the driving force behind NAVC’s Veterinary Innovation Council and the Veterinary Innovation Summit, and resonates strongly with our Summit attendees working hard to transform pet health.”

— Tom Bohn, CEO, NAVC

Source: Mars Petcare launches tech-enabled Pet Insight Project