Article View

Mobile Application for Digital Health Monitoring and Veterinary Support for Horse Owners

Retrospektive Studie der Pferde mit chronisch rekurrierender Blinddarmobstipation nach chirurgischer Versorgung mittels Erweiterungsplastik des Ostium caecocolicum

Zhou Ya

Abstract

The fast development of mobile technologies has transformed the monitoring and management of animal health and farms. Horses need constant care, regular check-ups, and medical attention to stay in peak condition for performance and fitness. However, not every horse owner can observe health signs, identify disease promptly, or receive timely medical care. The current project involves developing a mobile app that provides online health monitoring and veterinary assistance to horse owners. As promised, the app will integrate the health tracker, symptom tracker, veterinary appointment scheduler, and management features into a single digital platform. The suggested system provides horse owners with an easy entry point to record fundamental health data, including body temperature, heart rate, weight, feeding schedule, vaccination history, and exercise routine. This kind of information is securely stored in the application and analyzed to identify any irregularities that may indicate a health issue. There is also a symptom-check feature that allows the user to enter the symptoms they observe in a person, such as behavioural changes, loss of appetite, or movement difficulties. The application produces notifications and recommendations in accordance with established veterinary principles. In addition to health tracking, the smartphone application offers rapid veterinary services via built-in communication services. The horse's owner can send health data, photos, and real-time updates to the veterinarian via email for an online consult. The application of digital technologies enhances record management, reduces errors in manual records, and provides veterinarians with greater access to information for horse owners, irrespective of their geographical location. On the whole, the proposed mobile app will enhance animal welfare, promote health-related monitoring, and improve communication between horse owners and vets. The integration of digital health monitoring technologies with veterinary support services will make the system a viable, scalable solution for modern horse care and management.

Keywords: Mobile Application (MA), Digital Health Monitoring (DHM), Veterinary Support (VS), Horse Owners (HO)

Pengliang Li, Xuyan Wu, Wei Wang, Cheng Zhang, Xiaochen Yang, Jixiang Li

Abstract

Impaction is one of the most common disease of the cecum in horses. It is important to distinguish between acute and chronic recurrent cases. Acute impaction occurs suddenly and resolves within a few days with medical and/or surgical treatment whereas in chronic cases the impaction within the base or the whole cecum occurs repeatedly at irregular intervals. The chronic recurrent cecal impaction (CRCI) is characterized by hypertrophy of muscle in the cecal base or entire cecum. The pathogenesis is not fully understood: hypothesis is that the cecal impaction induces a distension during the contraction of the circular muscle layer which is a stimulus of a hypertrophy of the circular and longitudinal muscle layer in the cecum. Furthermore, neuronal density in the plexus myentericus was found to be decreased significantly in the cecal wall of CRCI. Initially, in cases of CRCI the cecocolic orifice is not entirely blocked allowing partial transit of ingesta. Hypertrophy of the muscle layer (longitudinal and circular muscle) begins at the cecal base and as the disease progresses, the cecocolic opening becomes completely obstructed due to the automatic closure mechanism. The rectal and ultrasound exam are the most useful diagnostic steps while different degrees of cecal impaction and/or tympany, a marked thickening and cecal wall contractility due to palpation are found. The hypertrophy can be regarded as a pathognomonic sign. Treatment in our study was done by surgical enlargement of the cecocolic orifice (created by Huskamp 1990). Tissue samples of defined cecal regions were taken during surgery or necropsy: the circular and longitudinal muscle layer were significantly thicker, linear neuron densities were significantly lower each compared to clinically healthy horses. Based on smooth muscle thickening and neuron deficit, rectally palpable and ultrasound visible cecal wall thickening, horses suffering from CRI have a poor prognosis. Surgery by enlargement of the cecocolic orifice in horses with CRCI have a better prognosis if only the cecal base has a thickening and a normal cecal body wall.

Keywords: horses, chronic recurrent cecal impaction, surgical treatment enlargement cecocolic orifice, long-term survival

Download pdf

Mobile Application for Digital Health Monitoring and Veterinary Support for Horse Owners

Retrospektive Studie der Pferde mit chronisch rekurrierender Blinddarmobstipation nach chirurgischer Versorgung mittels Erweiterungsplastik des Ostium caecocolicum

Abstract

Abstract

Submit your paper with us

Explore

Editorship

Submission of Manuscripts