Mayumi Kitakata, a 57-year-old resident of Tokyo, Japan, is among the many pet owners who have turned to artificial intelligence to ensure the well-being of their furry companions.
What Happened: Kitakata, who is concerned about the health of her 14-year-old cat, Chi, has adopted CatsMe!, an AI-driven smartphone application that claims to detect feline pain, reported Reuters.
Kitakata, who has had cats since her mid-20s, uses the app to monitor Chi's urinal activity and facial expressions. She believes that if she had used CatsMe! with her previous cat, Soran, she might have been able to detect his cancer earlier and potentially save him.
"He is at an age where more and more diseases are going to appear," said Kitakata, who is single and has a grown son. "So being able to consult the vet but still reduce the number of visits to the hospital is very important for him and for me."
Kitakata's decision to use CatsMe! reflects the growing trend of AI integration in healthcare. The app, developed by tech startup Carelogy and researchers at Nihon University, has been used by over 230,000 customers since its launch last year.
It is trained on 6,000 pictures of cats and is reportedly more than 95% accurate in detecting feline pain. The developers expect this accuracy to improve as the AI trains on more feline faces.
According to Kazuya Edamura, a professor at Nihon University, CatsMe! can help cat owners become aware of their pet's health status. This is particularly important in Japan, where pets play an outsized role due to the aging population and declining birth rate.
The Japan Pet Food Association estimated that there were almost 16 million pet cats and dogs in the country last year, more than the number of children under 15.
Why It Matters: The use of AI in the healthcare sector is rapidly expanding, with the global AI in healthcare market size projected to reach $148.4 billion by 2029. This growth is driven by the multifaceted benefits AI offers, including streamlining administrative tasks, optimizing treatment plans, and enabling more precise diagnostics.
AI is also making waves in other areas of healthcare. For instance, in March earlier this year, it was announced that Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) partnered with Hippocratic AI to introduce AI nurses that charge a mere $9 per hour, a significant contrast to the average $90 per hour fee for human nurses.
Companies like Cardio Diagnostics Hldgs are also using AI to help prevent cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.