20 Reasons for Vets on the benefits of HeyrexVet

Below are 20 of the primary benefits of utilising the Heyrex for Vets leasing model in your Veterinary clinic or hospital.

 

  1. Measure daily activity, rest and temperature for undertaking canine clinical trials requiring an accurate gauge of daily exercise and activity.

    Heyrex monitors have been used in numerous studies, several of which have been published in peer reviewed scientific journals. Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, continues to use Heyrex for many clinical trials, most recently a large trial on 60 working farm dogs. The accuracy and ability to get a lot of relevant data on Heyrex, made it an invaluable asset for these canine veterinary trials. See the article ‘Efficacy of Heyrex remote biometric monitoring versus observational assessment during a clinical trial - June 2013, Thomas V., V.N. B.A. (Hons) for more interesting reading on this click here

  2. Monitor compliance post-surgically for cases requiring strict cage rest, decreased to no activity, or increased rest (ideal for orthopaedic cases, post neutering and undergoing rehabilitation such as hydrotherapy or physiotherapy):

    Most surgical procedures require at the very least a degree or confinement and/or strict rest. Even if this is just for 7-10 days of strict leash walking (a bitch spay for example), the Heyrex will be able to detect whether your client is indeed following your instructions. This feature becomes even more useful and important for orthopaedic procedures that require strict cage rest, as compliance is even more important here.

  3. Monitor compliance post-surgically for slowly increasing exercise — eg cruciate surgery, or where exercise is encouraged - eg FHO:

    In certain (infrequent) orthopaedic procedures (such as a femoral head osteotomy) exercise is encouraged directly post op. In other procedures strict rest is required, typically followed by gradually increasing the amount of exercise week by week for 3 - 4 months. Heyrex can help both the clinician and the client get the amount of activity right

  4. Monitor increases in pruritus that may indicate a medical or parasitic issue (eg allergy or fleas/mites):

    The Heyrex monitor is particularly sensitive at accurately recording any episodes of pruritus (itching) a dog may have. Increases in pruritus are very easy to spot on the day-to-day and week-to-week graphs, and an alert will be sent to the client if there is a dramatic increase in a dog’s level of pruritus. This particular feature could help to pick up anything from external parasites (eg fleas and mites), to a contact or food allergy, or an anal gland issue, simply by identifying an increase in pruritus and notifying the owner about it.

  5. Detect the early signs of lameness and osteoarticular disease:

    An increase in sleeping and rest alongside a decrease in activity, could be a sign of an osteoarticular disease in dogs of any age. While many instances of lameness are obvious for an owner to see, more subtle lameness’s may be identified after noticing a decrease in activity and an increase in rest on a dog’s Heyrex graph.

  6. Measure response to medication and/or nutrition in the short-term for pruritus:

    For cases of pruritus where a medication or diet has been prescribed, the efficacy of this treatment can be assessed in the short-term in a per-day or per-week format. An effect can often be seen hours after a medication in some instances. This is nicely demonstrated in a case study of a dog who had an allergy to the plant ‘Wandering Jew

  7. Measure response to medication and/or nutrition in the long-term for pruritus:

    For cases of pruritus where a medication or diet has been prescribed, the efficacy and treatment of the product or products can be assessed over the period of several months as well. This can be quite helpful when tapering a dose of steroids to the lowest possible dose, or when attempting to wean a dog off dermatological medications altogether. Any increase in pruritus will quickly be detected by the Heyrex monitor.

  8. Measure response to medication and/or nutrition in the short term for osteoarticular disease:

    For the post-operative care and treatment of orthopedic patients, or for patients with an osteoarticular disease or syndrome that requires immediate pharmaceutical or nutritional assistance, the amount of activity and rest undertaken by the dog gives an indicator as to the efficacy of treatment. The Heyrex unit has in fact been used in one clinical study to assess the efficacy of a Veterinary nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The monitor is very accurate and able to detect a significant difference between groups (if it exists) in these types of trials. Given the increasingly popular ‘Zero Pain Philosophy’, the Heyrex monitor is perfect for ensuring that any Veterinary pain medication or anti-inflammatory drugs, are actually having the right effect.

  9. Measure response to medication and/or nutrition in the long term for osteoarticular disease

    Likewise, Heyrex is also very useful in the longer-term treatment of certain osteoarticular diseases that require ongoing pain management, anti-inflammatory drugs and appropriate nutrition. The effects of these drugs and/or diets can be assessed on a long-term, week-by-week and month-by-month basis as well.

  10. Accurately detect increased rest and/or decreased activity that may indicate an internal organ issue, or brain ageing in an older dog:

    In older dogs, an increase in rest and/or sleep can often be associated with an internal organ issue or canine brain ageing. Likewise — this can also be linked with a decrease in activity which may also be picked up by the monitor. Issues like canine brain ageing may also show bizarre sleep patterns, with a lot of sleep and rest during the day, and an increased activity at night. Thankfully the Heyrex monitor can pick up all of these alterations, and with some quick interpretation, this can help lead to a much easier diagnosis. In cases where activity is reduced and sleep/rest is increased, but the dog does not seem lame or isn’t reluctant to move, further investigation including a full physical exam and blood test would definitely be warranted.

  11. Monitor increases or decreases in activity/rest that may indicate an improved or worsening behavioral condition:

    By having an accurate daily record of when a dog is active (as well as the intensity of the activity), resting or sleeping, behavioral issues like separation anxiety, territorial aggression and problem barking become easier to spot - particularly for busy clients who aren’t often at home. More importantly, you may be alerted to an issue as a clinician that you can raise with the owner. For example if a dog is extremely active during the day while the owner is at work, perhaps this could be an indication of pacing a fenceline (territorial aggression), or destructive behavior secondary to separation anxiety. An excellent example of using Heyrex for this purpose can be found here.

  12. Assess when a dog is resting/sleeping and active during the day and night to aid with the diagnosis and treatment of some canine behavioral issues (such as separation anxiety):

    In turn, keeping track of daily activity, rest and sleep can also ensure that a behavioral training and enrichment programme is getting things back to normal for a dog. If medication is necessary to assist a behavioral issue, then this can be assessed on a day to day and week to week basis as well.

  13. Utilise the monitor as a weight management tool. Ensure increase in exercise/activity & provide motivation for the client to get their dog moving more frequently:

    Globally we are seeing a continual increase in the prevalence of obese and overweight dogs. With this comes an increase in the prevalence of associated diseases such as cardiopulmonary disease and osteoarthritis. Getting owners involved and educating them about their pet’s obesity is key to changing these statistics and getting them to lose weight. Heyrex really is the future of canine weight management. Being able to see the amount of exercise their dog is getting really is enough to give clients a wake-up call on this topic. Furthermore, it is a very good incentive to get their dogs (and also themselves!) moving more frequently and doing more exercise. Future Heyrex developments could potentially lead to the ability of calculating a dog’s daily caloric expenditure, such that daily caloric intake can be closely matched to this — watch this space! Right now Heyrex plays a very important role in many canine obesity clinics around the world since the key to weight loss is a relatively simple matter of decreasing caloric intake (by careful feeding and using a weight loss diet), and increased caloric expenditure (by increasing exercise and activity).

  14. Gauge the overall fluctuations in ambient temperature a dog has been exposed to over a given time frame. This could assist with assessing certain disease — particularly skin disease, and issues causing pruritic episodes.

    A temperature gauge within the Heyrex device measures the ambient temperature each dog is exposed to over time. This can give a clinician an idea of whether a dog has been subjected to excessively hot environments (such as a car for example) or excessively cold environments (stuck outside on a cold winters day). In extreme cases of high or low ambient temperatures, a warning will be sent to an owner to notify them as well. The ambient temperature is also recorded over time which can help with the investigation of certain issues — particularly pruritic ones (with the combination of ambient temperature recording alongside episodes of pruritus).

  15. Assess ambient temperature for each individual patient wearing the the Heyrex monitor while hospitalised.

    Having hospitalised patients wearing the Heyrex monitors not only gives a clinician information about the amount of rest and activity each dog is getting, but also ensures the ambient temperatures they are subjected to are measurable and appropriate.

  16. Aid trainers and institutions with working dogs in by assessing their work output, amount of rest, work efficiency and highlight any dogs whose performance seems to be declining.

    There are quite a number of professional and government organisations around the world who are now utilising Heyrex to keep an eye on their dogs’ ongoing work performance, efficiency and rest frequency. Heyrex can be an invaluable tool in this situation to spot a dog out of a large group of working dogs who isn’t performing as well as previously, or as well as the other dogs in the group. This could lead to the identification of musculoskeletal or internal organ issues. Likewise, level of pruritus and ambient temperatures are measured for each dog to help control external parasites, and ensure the dogs are kenneled in conditions that allow them to perform at their peak.

  17. A communication tool to include and interact with the client on a regular basis: OR “interact with the client more often”

    Clients love the Heyrex monitor. It really gets  them involved with their pet and with their clinician. What’s more, you can assess each dog’s Heyrex chart from anywhere in the world and communicate any interesting or worrying findings you are seeing to each owner individually. This interaction is really appreciated by clients and is often seen as the Vet going ‘above and beyond’ when compared to other Vets. This alone gives you a strong point of difference compared to the other Vets in your region if you are leasing the Heyrex unit out to clients, and helps the public know your clinic really is at the forefront of Veterinary medicine. If the monitor can help identify a health or behavioral problem before the owner noticed any symptoms, you will typically secure a client for life.

  18. Improve overall client compliance and increase re-visits to the Veterinary clinic:

    Having the ability to access the Heyrex chart of every dog wearing a Heyrex therapeutic monitoring service allows you to assess all of the variables mentioned above. Ensure your client’s dog is in resting properly following surgery. Ensure your client is exercising their dog more during a weight loss programme. Keep a close eye on the scratch count in those pruritic patients you are treating. Monitor rest, sleep and activity in the dogs with behavioral issues you are treating. The list goes on! Utilising this data and notifying your clients about it, is a great way to engage them and ensure compliance and regular re-visits. In many cases, your clients will be noticing a change on the Heyrex chart and come in for a re-visit to assess something that has been picked up by the Heyrex monitor.

  19. Due to improved interaction, increase in re-visit frequency and client compliance — improve overall clinic revenue.

    The increased client engagement, interaction and education will ultimately lead to better compliance, increased re-visits to the clinic and likely an increase in client.  All these factors contribute to increased revenue for the clinic, a direct result of leasing Heyrex units. Many clinics around the world are already beginning to see these benefits, including Dr. Tony Puglisi from the Virginia Beach Veterinary Surgery, USA who is currently leasing between one and two units every day, noticing an excellent increase in clinic revenue.

  20. Ultimately enrich your working life, assist clients in doing their best for their dogs, and see the difference you can make in the day-to-day life of each and every dog wearing the Heyrex monitor.

 

Heyrex for Vets is the future, and as our research and development team continue to work on more exciting innovations, it is pretty clear the possibilities for enhancing vet-client relations are truly endless.

Dr Mark Edwards, BVSc MRCVS
February, 2014

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