AgLogica Holdings Inc. has transferred its interest in the Vetrax wearable sensor to partner Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc.
Hill’s, which has worked with AgLogica on the device’s development for three years, announced the acquisition Oct. 10. Financial terms were not announced.
Worn on a dog’s collar, Vetrax measures a number of behaviors, such as shaking, scratching, walking and sleeping, and is designed to help pet owners and veterinarians monitor numerous health conditions. For example, about 8 in 10 veterinarians surveyed reported that Vetrax allowed them to remotely monitor allergy flare-ups in their canine patients and keep watch on overweight or diabetic dogs.
The device communicates with veterinarians through a web-based portal and with pet owners through a mobile app.
“Vetrax is already helping veterinarians and pet parents to provide enhanced care for dogs with a variety of conditions,” said Jesper Nordengaard, a Hill’s vice president and general manager. “But this is just the beginning. We believe the technology has the potential to further transform veterinary care for dogs and, in time, for cats, too. This is the perfect conclusion to the exploratory work that we have done with AGL over the last few years.”
A 2017 study conducted by Norcross, Georgia-based AgLogica found that Vetrax-wearing dogs each day slept an average of 10.4 hours, scratched for 100 seconds and shook themselves for 39 seconds.
Pet nutritionists can learn from Vetrax, too.
“The Vetrax technology is a fantastic tool to evaluate the performance of our therapeutic and wellness foods and to support clinical studies,” said Dave Baloga, vice president of science and technology at Hill’s.