AI Could Help Diagnose Dogs Suffering From Chronic Pain

AI could help diagnose dogs suffering from chronic pain and identify facial changes associated with malformation (via Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay)

A new artificial intelligence technique could help veterinarians quickly identify dogs with a chronic disease that causes crippling pain.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) are predisposed to Chiari-like malformation (CM), a disease which causes deformity of the skull and neck.

In some extreme cases, it can even lead to spinal cord damage called syringomyelia (SM)—straightforward to diagnose, but difficult to confirm associated pain.

Never fear: AI is here!

In a paper published by the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, researchers from the University of Surrey’s Center for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) and School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) detail their automated method.

“This project demonstrates the potential for AI using machine learning to provide new diagnostic tools for animal health,” Adrian Hilton, Surrey professor and director of CVSSP, said in a statement.

Using image mapping, the team was able to discover patterns in MRI data that can help vets identify dogs suffering from CM-associated pain. (It involves the canines’ third ventricle, neural tissue, sphenoid bone, and presphenoid bone.)

“The success of our technique suggests machine learning can be developed as a diagnostic tool to help treat Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’s that are suffering from this enigmatic and terrible disease,” lead study author Michaela Spiteri, a research student at CVSSP, said.

“We believe that AI can be a useful tool for veterinarians caring for our four-legged family members,” she added.

Identification of these biomarkers inspired further findings, also published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, which found that dogs with pain associated with CM have a differently shaped skull and reduced nasal tissue.

“This study suggests that the whole skull, rather than just the hindbrain, should be analyzed in diagnostic tests,” according to co-author Penny Knowler.

“It also impacts … how we should interpret MRI from affected dogs” she continued, “and the choices we make when we breed predisposed dogs and develop breeding recommendations.”

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