Equimetrics V-Pro
Revolutionising equine care with a wearable device for horses
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The Equimetrics V-Pro looks to reshape the entire landscape of equine care through a uniquely integrated remote monitoring wearable device.
The ability to detect changes in a horse’s biometric data and vital signs is key to identifying early signs of health issues and enabling timely intervention. However, tracking equine health and performance is currently an expensive task for owners, and often relies on specialised equipment in a hospital setting. The innovative V-Pro enables horse veterinarians to monitor equine health safely, efficiently, and with ease, from anywhere.
The equine community faces big challenges in monitoring horse health and performance. We worked to develop a user-friendly solution that could overcome the obstacle of not being able to constantly monitor a horse’s health and wellbeing, unless under 24/7 camera supervision.”
Equimetrics – an Irish-based equine veterinary medical device developer – have been in the equestrian industry for more than 40 years and are focused on providing innovative solutions for the remote monitoring of horses, for both veterinarians, equine hospitals, owners, trainers, and caregivers. Equimetrics approached us with a prototype that needed further development. They wanted a product development partner to bring their product concept to reality through physical prototypes, ongoing testing with horses, and developing manufacturing readiness files – all fields that our team are adept in.
Harnessing life-saving data
Horses can spend long hours in solitary stables, often with limited supervision, making monitoring their health difficult for owners and veterinarians.
The team at Equimetrics knew their market and what would be needed of a device like this from a user experience and interaction perspective. As such, creating a practical wearable device for horses that overcome the obstacles, the housing environment, and day-to-day life of horses was of utmost importance. The teams had to ensure the device was easy to put on and take off, comfortable for the horse, durable enough to withstand the rugged environment, and most importantly, capable of gathering accurate and actionable data.
To find solutions to these challenges, our joint design development and engineering teams worked together and meticulously tested prototypes in situ with different horses. The harness needed to remain fixed on the horse to provide accuracy, but with the horse's hair potentially interfering with sensor readings it wasn’t simple. All gaps were eliminated where hair could enter, ensuring the highest signal quality.
After numerous prototypes, a combination of soft padding and gel provided the optimal solution to ensuring comfort and long-term wearability, even under blankets or rugs in cold environments. Additionally, a robust holster for the electronics was integrated to protect against potential impacts, such as when a horse bumps into stable doors, gates, or barriers.
Our approach was to test with real horses as much as possible to provide the most rigorous results. It also helped that we had a full scale model of a horse in the studio so we could deploy fast, iterative mock-ups that would sit comfortably around the horse’s body. Finally, we used virtual reality tools to develop complex real-scale drawings to inform the design development and aesthetic features.”
The vest holster houses an electronic unit that, aside from gathering electrocardiogram (ECG) data, is also used as a microchip reader. Therefore, the usability and size of the unit needed to be designed ergonomically for a vet to be able to take it out easily, swap it between uses, and scan the horse’s neck to record the micro chip.
Our ambition was to design a product with generous affordances, minimal touchpoints, and robust interfaces – a centerpiece that emerged from the garment itself. We explored the interaction between the two components, focusing on the experience of effortlessly removing and placing the puck on a horse. It was an iterative process that increased in resolution, functionality, and contextual accuracy eventually testing with horses in stables ensuring the design exceeded expectations in both design and function.”
A unique impact on equine care
The V-Pro collects data on heart rate, respiration, temperature, sweat, movement, and location, which paints a picture of a horse’s wellbeing and exercise tolerance. The caregiver or veterinarian can view the in-depth data in an easy-to-use format in the V-Pro app, developed by Equimetrics, which gives live and accurate readings. It also sends “push alerts” if the horse’s metrics go outside the normal parameters.
Unlike any product on the market, the V-Pro is a truly integrated solution that is unique, safe, and anatomically designed. It brings remote monitoring technology to the equine sector and enables veterinary professionals to get greater insights via continuous, intelligent equine monitoring, 24/7, regardless of location.
Its impact on the larger landscape of equine health has significant potential, as it helps to alleviate pressures on resources and provides levels of patient oversight never before possible.
The success of the V-Pro design was recognised in a triple award win at the IDI Irish Design Awards, the iF Design Award, and the GOOD DESIGN award all in the category of Product Design – Healthcare & Medical Products.
It has been a pleasure working with PA, developing our design, and making it fit for the manufacturing process. The whole team were very engaged and professional from the start and helped us overcome a number of obstacles during the process. The V-Pro has been very well received by the veterinary profession. Veterinarians are now able to conduct remote ECG diagnostics easily and quickly without the need to take a horse out of their environment and admit them to a veterinary hospital.”
All IP in relation to design and development of the Equimetrics range of devices and wearables is wholly owned by Equimetrics Ltd.
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