Dog monitor taken off the market
A wearable electronic device intended for use on dogs is no longer available, as enrollment in its veterinary monitoring program was slower than expected.
Intersections Inc. announced in a Dec. 1, 2016, press release it would close its pet health monitoring business, known as Voyce, effective immediately. The company’s subsidiary, i4c Innovations Inc., created the Voyce Health Monitor, a device worn around the neck that was marketed to pet owners and veterinarians. It was developed in collaboration with biomedical engineers, veterinary experts, and Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Creation of the device was announced in early 2014, but the hardware had been delayed for developmental and regulatory reasons, and it wasn’t made available to the public until more than a year later. The band cost $200 and carried a monthly subscription fee. One of a number of canine wearables on the market, the monitor was among the first capable of sharing resting heart and respiratory rates.
Voyce Pro, launched in mid-2015, was designed for and marketed to veterinarians as a way to remotely monitor their canine patients as well as help identify and manage issues such as heart, joint, or neuromuscular diseases. But enrollment in Voyce Pro was “slower than expected and therefore the Voyce business was unable to achieve an acceptable level of revenue,” according to the press release.
Michael Stanfield, Intersections’ chairman and CEO, was quoted as saying, “Efforts at Voyce have taken longer than expected, and the time required to introduce such a breakthrough technology to the veterinary market was greater than anticipated.”
The discontinuation and winding down of operations may include the sale of assets and other opportunities to monetize the Voyce technology. This process may include seeking partners to license the technology for purposes of developing products for the veterinary, pharmaceutical, and research markets. The Voyce website directs questions to customersupport
voyce [dot] com (customersupport[at]voyce[dot]com).