New mobile app to help Veterinary Oncologists and pet owners

A new mobile app has been launched to help owners monitor the side effects of chemotherapy in their pets during treatment for cancer.

The Mobile and User Interface Team in Computing Services Department (CSD) worked alongside Dr Riccardo Finotello, Head of the Small Animal Oncology Service at the University’s Small Animal Teaching Hospital (SATH), to develop the app which is available exclusively for users of the SATH.

Based on an existing questionnaire, the app allows owners to monitor and record activities that may affect their pet’s overall condition such as energy levels, appetite and other adverse reactions.

With a simple click, data are then sent to the SATH on a daily basis and linked with the patient’s records for a more reliable and up to date assessment to help Veterinary Oncologists to determine treatment plans.

The app can also be used for pets undergoing radiotherapy, thanks to a photo upload tool, and assists owners with automated reminders for administering different medications.

Dr Finotello said: “I’m looking forward to the UoL Chemo Pet App to be released as I think this will be of great help for veterinary oncology clinicians, providing a much more reliable way of assessing chemotherapy toxicity in our patients. I believe it is not easy for owners to remember the severity of side effects when days, and sometimes even weeks, have passed in between appointments; the questions we ask them result sometimes in vague and uncertain answers making our assessments potentially inaccurate.”

“With the app they will always be able to record events in real time and feed them back directly into the animal records. I’m confident this will make a difference to our practice. With the medication log owners will also be able to keep record of all the medications, making sure nothing gets forgotten”

The app, trialled with a group of pet owners before being officially launched this spring, is now available to download via the University’s mobile app store at:  https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/csd/app-directory/pet-chemo-app/