Vetinstant Healthcare: Elevating veterinary medicine standards with connected care

Origins and Early Innovations

In the heart of India’s bustling startup ecosystem, Vetinstant Healthcare Pvt Ltd emerged in September 2018, founded by Vivek Srinivas and Vani Aiyer. Their initial vision was to create smart devices that would provide pet parents and veterinarians with valuable insights into animal health. The company’s early products, a smart bed, bowl, and collar, aimed to track weight, food and water intake, gait, GPS location, and basic vitals like temperature and auscultations.

The Pivotal Shift: Listening to Veterinarians

However, Vetinstant’s journey took a pivotal turn after extensive conversations with veterinarians. They discovered a pressing need for reliable, accessible devices that could cater to an entire household of animals, not just individual pets. This feedback led to a significant shift in the company’s direction, resulting in the development of a handheld device called the exam D.

Empowering Pet Parents with the exam D

The Exam D was designed to empower pet parents by allowing them to measure five essential vitals—temperature, SPO2, heart rate, and heart and lung auscultations—in the comfort of their own homes. This innovative approach addressed the issue of anxiety-induced fluctuations in vitals often observed in clinical settings. To validate the device’s efficacy, Vetinstant collaborated with RIVER (Pondicherry Veterinary University) and conducted rigorous testing on over 500 dogs, cattle, and cats.

Market Validation and Valuable Feedback

In 2022-23, Vetinstant joined the vibrant startup community at IIT Madras Research Park, under the mentorship of Dr. Ashok Jhunjunwala. They embarked on a market outreach initiative, training and fostering relationships with over 50 veterinarians across major cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai, and Bengaluru. By October 2023, through social media, SMS campaigns, and word-of-mouth referrals, Vetinstant had secured pre-orders for 50 exam D devices from early adopters.

The company’s foray into the market yielded valuable insights and reinforced their commitment to device-led programs in collaboration with veterinarians. The exam D received positive feedback for its utility in various clinical scenarios, including IPDs, OPDs, consult rooms, and inter-clinic communication between specialists and generalists. However, several key areas for improvement were identified:

1. Expanding Functionality and Versatility
   • The need for a more versatile device that could cater to both pet parents and veterinarians, offering enhanced accuracy and the ability to take multiple readings across different animals.
2. Simplifying the User Experience for Pet Parents
   • Addressing the perceived complexity of using the app, device, and managing the dog simultaneously.
3. Developing a Comprehensive Digital Solution for Veterinarians
   • A comprehensive digital solution for veterinarians, encompassing not only digital consults but also their daily clinical workflow. This solution should also facilitate seamless communication with pet parents and provide easy access to data regardless of location.

Cost Optimization and Enhanced Functionality

To address these challenges and optimize production costs, Vetinstant collaborated with the IIT Madras Research Park’s manufacturing and SCM teams. By December 2023, they had successfully reduced the device’s cost and fortified its functionality for both pet parents and veterinarians.

Expanding the Product Line for Pet Parents and Veterinarians

The enhanced exam D now offered a base-level product for pet parents, priced at 6500 INR, which included temperature, heart and lung auscultations, active noise cancellation for live vitals recording during video calls, a microchip for the dog, and a microchip scanner. For an additional 2500 INR, pet parents could also access SPO2 and heart rate functions.

For veterinarians, a more comprehensive version of the Exam D was available at 15000 INR, featuring a single-lead ECG and a wide array of advanced functions, including temperature detection, pulse detection, auscultations of various body systems, urine analysis, live video examinations with documentation, pain indicators, skin disease detection, image enhancement for wounds and skin issues, gum color detection, fecal worm detection, and behavioral issue assessment. Notably, the device focused on assisting veterinarians in identifying the correct condition, even remotely, rather than diagnosing conditions outright.

Transitioning to a SAAS-Led Model

In early 2024, Vetinstant transitioned from a device-led business supported by a SAAS solution to a SAAS-led solution for veterinarians and pet parents, supported by a suite of devices. The company’s unique device remained a significant differentiator in both the Indian and global markets.

Comprehensive Practice Management System (PMS)

Recognizing the diverse needs of veterinary establishments, Vetinstant developed a comprehensive Practice Management System (PMS) with features tailored to clinics, hospitals, and private practices. The PMS offered functionalities such as vet profile management, pet parent profile creation, appointment management, payments and billing, business analytics, inventory management, and integration with doorstep medicine delivery services.

Digitizing Veterinary Practices and Empowering Pet Parents

With the widespread adoption of the PMS across different types of veterinary establishments, the daily operations of clinics were seamlessly integrated onto the Vetinstant platform. Pet parents could easily download and install the Woofnosis app, register themselves and their pets, schedule appointments, receive e-prescriptions and follow-up reminders, make e-payments, and access a cloud database of their pets’ health records.

This comprehensive ecosystem, encompassing the PMS, apps, and the exam D, provided both pet parents and veterinarians with readily available information about their pets or clientele. Moreover, veterinarians gained the capability to treat a wider range of small animals, including cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs.

Vetinstant’s Brand Purpose and Mission

Vetinstant’s brand purpose is to raise awareness for non-invasive vital measurement in animals and revolutionize animal healthcare through digitization, enabling preventive and predictive care globally, regardless of location or species.

The company’s device has been extensively trialed on over 800 dogs at RIVERS, Pondicherry Veterinary University, with ongoing trials for cats and cattle. Vetinstant was granted a functional patent by the Government of India in early January 2024 and has filed a PCT for the device, as well as patents for upcoming devices for urine tests, beds, bowls, and collars.

Vetinstant’s mission is particularly crucial in the context of animal health issues, which often arise suddenly and without warning due to animals’ inability to communicate their needs and their high pain thresholds. The lack of trained paravets further compounds the challenges faced by veterinary clinics. Additionally, the growing number of pets per veterinarian and the time-consuming nature of basic pre-clinical tasks like data and information downloads can significantly hinder the delivery of timely care and accurate diagnoses.

Transforming Animal Healthcare through Innovation

By empowering pet parents with tools to gather essential data and providing veterinarians with a comprehensive digital solution, Vetinstant is transforming animal healthcare. Their innovative approach enables early detection, preventive care, and personalized treatment plans, ultimately improving the lives of animals and their human companions.