As part of a partnership with Purdue University’s Spatial Computing Hub, the College of Veterinary Medicine launched Purdue Vet Med (PVM) Pro Tips for companion animal owners. The app, which is available for Apple Vision Pro, iPad and iPhone, offers step-by-step tutorials for providing at-home care to cats, dogs, horses and birds.
Created by Purdue veterinary professionals and designed for pet owners, the app offers tutorials for care tasks like trimming nails, cleaning ears, bandaging wounds and administering medications. The app also provides a list of materials needed to complete the various tasks safely and efficiently, along with step-by-step instructions and visual aids.
According to Dr. Caroline Gillespie Harmon, clinical assistant professor of equine community practice and section head of the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital’s Equine Field Service, PVM Pro Tips gives pet owners a reliable reference for completing basic veterinary skills.
“Too often I find myself asking owners to record procedures or searching for videos to share with them so they have something to look back on once I’ve left the farm,” Gillespie Harmon said. “I hope this app becomes an invaluable resource.”
The idea for PVM Pro Tips started when Dr. Sandra San Miguel, associate dean for engagement and a professor in veterinary clinical sciences, attended an Apple Vision Pro demonstration. Seeing the technology’s capabilities for blending physical and digital worlds and allowing hands-free interaction, she immediately started to think about how Vision Pro could be used in veterinary applications. From there, San Miguel wrote a proposal to develop Vision Pro use cases for veterinary education with help from Purdue’s Spatial Computing Hub. A team of Purdue experts assisted with the development.
PVM Pro Tips was created for Vision Pro, providing users with an immersive learning experience where they can care for animals in the physical world while simultaneously being walked through each procedure by a Purdue veterinary expert in the digital world. For example, users in the app can get real-time tips for trimming a pet’s nails by working through the procedure with a Purdue vet expert. For the companion animal app, Dr. Lorraine Corriveau, primary care clinician in the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital, and Dr. Gillespie Harmon served as the Purdue veterinary experts.
After launching the app, San Miguel and her team also released versions for iPhone and iPad to make expert guidance more accessible to users who do not have access to Vision Pro. The iPhone and iPad versions of the app include the same expert guidance without the spatial and immersive features of the Vision Pro version. The College of Veterinary Medicine is planning to release more Vision Pro apps in the future, with the goal of incorporating the technology in veterinary classrooms. They also developed an app for horse owners, which was released in May.
“While the app is for companion animal owners, we are also developing apps to advance the way we teach veterinary medicine,” said San Miguel. “We will be using Apple Vision Pro and spatial computing in our clinical skills laboratory so our students can practice hands-on procedures in real life while in a digital learning environment. We have the potential to positively impact future generations of students and animals.”
The Spatial Computing Hub was launched to give Purdue faculty, staff and students access to collaborative research opportunities, innovative educational programs and industry engagement made possible by utilizing Apple Vision Pro technology. Through the hub, learners can engage with Vision Pro and explore spatial computing, app development and more.
“We’re excited to offer programs that use Apple Vision Pro to foster a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in the emerging field of spatial computing, which will set up Purdue students to succeed in the future,” said Dimitrios Peroulis, Purdue’s senior vice president for partnerships and online.
According to Carrie Berger, executive director of online academics and strategic initiatives at Purdue University, the Spatial Computing Hub aims to empower faculty to explore the possibilities of spatial computing and develop use cases for Apple Vision Pro. Through developing these apps, the College of Veterinary Medicine is bringing Purdue’s vision for the hub to life by demonstrating the utility of spatial computing in veterinary applications and in education broadly.
“The success of Sandra San Miguel’s veterinary medicine app — marking the first Apple Vision Pro app released to the App Store from Purdue’s program — is a prime example of the innovation we sought to catalyze,” Berger said. “This work not only enhances our veterinary curriculum but also demonstrates how Purdue is leading the way in shaping the future of technology for the benefit of our students and the broader community.”
The PVM Pro Tips app is for informational and educational purposes only. In case of emergencies, owners should contact a licensed veterinarian or emergency clinic right away.
Users can learn more here or download PVM Pro Tips for iPhone and iPad and Apple Vision Pro from the App Store. Learn more about the just-released PVM Pro Tips for Equine Health here.
