Stonehaven Incubate creates unique collaboration to boost animal health through wearable technology

25th February, 2020

Stonehaven Incubate has teamed up with Sports Performance Tracking (SPT) and veterinary pain specialist, Dr. B Duncan X Lascelles – all leaders in their respective fields – to create a new venture that will commercialise sensor technology to improve animal health.

AniV8 (pronounced An-i-vate) is designed to become the leading developer of clinical sensor technology recommended by veterinarians to diagnose and monitor common companion animal disease states. AniV8 will be officially launched at the Kisaco Research Animal Health Investment Europe conference in London on February 24-26, 2020.

AniV8 has been formed to commercialise its first product, a novel approach to measuring the impact of osteoarthritis pain in companion animals by using proprietary algorithms to measure the quality of movement.

AniV8’s Co-Founder, Dr. Duncan Lascelles, is a leading authority on the measurement and management of canine and feline pain. He is currently Professor of Small Animal Surgery and Pain Management at North Carolina State University, and Director of the Translational Research in Pain (TRiP) Program and the Comparative Pain Research and Education Centre (CPREC).

We have taken a novel approach to measuring the impact of musculoskeletal pain that is agnostic to species, size, shape, age and lifestyle characteristics”, Dr. Lascelles said. “Importantly, we believe our device will be a more reliable and accurate endpoint for clinical trials, diagnosis and treatment efficacy than subjective questionnaires completed by caregivers, and the technology can be deployed in clinical practice to assess the effectiveness of ongoing therapies.”

Dr. Mark Heffernan, CEO of Stonehaven Incubate, said: “SPT has already developed wearable devices and software which meet the needs of sports scientists, athletes and coaches to record and analyse in-game performance in detail.

“We have leveraged SPT’s deep knowledge to develop our device, which can spot the early signs of disease using sensor devices by detecting changes in behaviour and movement. That insight will be invaluable to veterinarians and owners, enabling earlier awareness and therapeutic and physical intervention to improve the wellbeing of animals.”

“This is a unique and exciting development,” said Dr. Heffernan. “AniV8 has the potential to revolutionise the way we manage musculoskeletal issues in animals.”

Capital raising for the new venture will begin in the first quarter of 2020.

Ends

Notes to editor:

For more information contact Mike Keeler or Alistair Moses at Garnett Keeler PR on +44 (0)20 8647 4467 or mike.keeler@garnettkeeler.com / alistair.moses@garnettkeeler.com

AniV8

AniV8 is a new company which is aiming to become the leading supplier of clinical wearable devices recommended by veterinarians to monitor musculoskeletal wellbeing. AniV8 was officially launched at Animal Health Investment Europe in London, February 24-26, 2020. www.aniv8.com

Stonehaven Incubate

Swiss based Stonehaven Incubate was formed in February 2018 and is a dedicated, animal health group committed to creating new companies de novo applying disruptive human technology. Stonehaven Incubate works with innovators and builds strategies for new, stand-alone animal health companies. It finds experienced management teams and sources the required capital, leaving no stone unturned in its quest to bring human innovations to animal health. Its parent company, Stonehaven Holding was formed in 2017 by George Gunn and Matthias Hofer. www.stonehaven-incubate.com

Sports Performance Tracking (SPT)

SPT is a leading developer and manufacturer of sports wearable GPS devices and software that record and analyse in-game performance metrics. The company has customers in more than 100 countries, including schools, healthcare professionals, local rugby associations and the Spanish Football League. www.sportsperformancetracking.com