Veterinary Innovation Podcast: How Wearable Data Is Changing Pet Care
We are pleased to announce that our Chief Veterinary Scientist and Co‑Founder, Dr. Asaf Dagan, was recently featured on the Veterinary Innovation Podcast. In a wide‑ranging conversation with hosts Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak, Dr. Dagan discussed how continuous, real‑time physiological data from wearable devices is reshaping how veterinarians monitor, diagnose, and manage the health of their patients.
Historically, veterinary clinical decisions have relied on snapshot examinations, owner observations, and intermittent diagnostics. These approaches provide important information, but they leave gaps about what happens between clinic visits. The episode explores how wearable health technology fills that gap by delivering continuous streams of objective physiological data—data that can reveal subtle changes in a pet’s condition long before they become obvious to owners or clinicians.
From Reactive to Proactive Care
One of the central themes of the discussion is the shift from reactive to proactive veterinary care. Continuous monitoring allows clinicians to identify early signs of disease, follow trends over time, and intervene sooner. By tracking parameters such as heart rate variability, respiration, activity levels, and temperature trends, veterinarians and pet owners gain a clearer, more complete picture of an animal’s baseline and deviations from it.
- Identify early signs of illness before visible symptoms emerge, enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment.
- Track chronic conditions with real‑world data that reflects daily life rather than isolated clinical settings.
- Detect acute events—such as pain episodes or seizures—more reliably and with precise timing information.
- Inform more effective follow‑up plans and support remote care decisions without unnecessary clinic visits.
Practical Benefits for Veterinarians and Pet Owners
For veterinary teams, access to continuous physiological data enhances clinical decision‑making. It supports objective assessment of treatment effects, helps prioritize cases that need urgent attention, and improves the quality of consultations by providing concrete trends rather than anecdotal reports. For pet owners, wearables offer peace of mind and a way to participate actively in their animal’s healthcare, sharing meaningful data with their veterinarian when changes occur.
The conversation also highlights how wearable devices can improve management of chronic diseases. Longitudinal data allows clinicians to evaluate how a patient responds to medication adjustments, lifestyle interventions, or rehabilitation programs. That longitudinal perspective is invaluable for tailoring treatment plans and demonstrating progress or setbacks in measurable terms.
Key Physiological Metrics and Their Value
During the episode, several physiological metrics are discussed for their clinical relevance. Heart rate variability and respiration rate provide insight into stress, pain, and cardiac or respiratory function. Activity patterns can indicate mobility limitations, worsening pain, or early behavioral changes associated with systemic disease. Temperature trends, when interpreted alongside other metrics, may help identify inflammatory processes or infection earlier than typical clinical signs.
While wearable data does not replace clinical judgment, it supplements traditional assessments with continuous objective information. That combination enables veterinarians to make better‑informed recommendations, reduce unnecessary interventions, and focus care where it matters most.
Looking Ahead: Integration and Adoption
Adoption of wearable health technology will continue to evolve as devices become more sophisticated and as veterinary teams integrate data into routine workflows. The episode explores practical considerations for implementation, including data interpretation, communication with pet owners, and how to use trends to guide follow‑up care. Education and collaboration between technology providers and clinicians remain essential to ensure that data is used responsibly and effectively.
Overall, the discussion illustrates how continuous monitoring offers a powerful new layer of insight for veterinary medicine. By turning intermittent observations into continuous narratives, wearable health technology helps shift care toward earlier detection, more precise management, and improved outcomes for patients.
Listen to the full episode on the Veterinary Innovation Podcast to hear the complete conversation with Dr. Asaf Dagan, Shawn Wilkie, and Dr. Ivan Zak, and learn more about how wearable data is changing early disease detection and patient management in veterinary practice.