Technology in veterinary practice

Technology has always been a vital part of various areas of veterinary practice. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) across society, it is important to consider how this increasingly common technology can be used in practice, while remaining cognisant of that it is still a relatively new and developing arena. It is not a finished product, and as such, should be treated with caution while in these early stages.

In human healthcare, potential uses for AI have been found in a number of areas, including imaging, streamlining workflows and even detecting patient allergies (Yarin et al, 2023). In their review and analysis of previous studies, Miracle et al (2025) found that an AI with a deep convolutional neural network had a ‘significant’ result when screening for melanoma in human patients, with a precision metric of over 98%. This is, without doubt, a promising start – however, patients may not trust automated systems and be reluctant to take the proverbial word of an AI over a human medical professional (Robertson et al, 2023). This is also likely to be the case in veterinary medicine; owners may be less willing to take action towards a diagnosis made by a machine rather than a qualified veterinary surgeon.