"Just 1 Minute"… Easy Analysis of Pet Dog X-rays with AI

SKT Collaborates with 5 National Veterinary Colleges
AI-Based Animal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Service
'Excalibur' to Launch on 25th
Subscription Service at 300,000 KRW per Month

On the 22nd, SK Telecom pre-released the 'Excalibur' service at a press briefing, an AI that analyzes X-ray images of pets to assist veterinarians in diagnosis. When the veterinarian presses a button, the AI technology automatically operates and provides information on abnormal findings and their locations within seconds.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "It is different from remote diagnosis that used to take more than 24 hours. You can receive an opinion from artificial intelligence (AI) within one minute."

On the 22nd, SK Telecom announced at a press briefing that it pre-released the 'X Caliber' service, where AI analyzes X-ray images of companion animals to assist veterinarians' diagnoses. X Caliber will make its official debut at the Seoul Veterinary Clinical Conference on the 25th.

X Caliber allows veterinarians to upload X-ray images of companion dogs' musculoskeletal system (7 types of musculoskeletal diseases) and chest (10 types of chest diseases) taken at hospitals to the cloud. The AI then provides analysis results, including abnormal findings and location information, to veterinarians within about 30 seconds (based on 100 Mbps internet speed). It has also obtained approval from the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency as the 'first domestic' X-ray-based animal medical imaging detection assistance software (SW). The service is limited to veterinarians and individual consumers cannot use it directly.

As a result of diagnosing musculoskeletal issues using Excalibur, more than 30 abnormal suspicious findings were detected. The right pelvic joint and others are in poor condition, and gallbladder dislocation is suspected.

The disease detection rate (sensitivity) of X Caliber ranges from 84% to 97% depending on the field. It helps veterinarians quickly and easily identify diseases that are difficult to diagnose in a short time through visualization. Oh I-se, director of Sky Animal Medical Center with 15 years of veterinary experience, said, "Even if done accurately, diagnosis inevitably involves errors," adding, "It is as different as solving subjective questions versus multiple-choice objective questions."

X Caliber is a subscription service priced at 300,000 KRW per month. The first use is free. Domestic and international remote reading services charge about 10,000 to 12,000 KRW per request. Compared to remote reading that used to take more than a day, the time has been reduced to within one minute. An SK Telecom official explained, "Remote medical care takes 24 hours because the company requests the case and then refers it to imaging specialists," adding, "In contrast, X Caliber provides opinions within one minute based on accumulated data."

SK Telecom collaborated with five national veterinary colleges nationwide during the development process. Based on the company's 'AI technology integration package,' AI Full Stack, it utilized data collection and storage, AI modeling, and service application technologies. The five national veterinary colleges developed the dataset. Insufficient animal medical data was supplemented with data augmentation technology. It was designed on a cloud basis to facilitate veterinarians' use and quality updates.

Screen showing VHS analysis results using Excalibur. The device automatically measures and displays the length, which was previously measured manually by the veterinarian.

Cooperation with domestic veterinary colleges will continue to expand. An SK Telecom official said, "Including Jeju National University, which recently joined, we are cooperating with six universities, and if we collaborate with one or two more next year, we will be working with seven to eight out of the ten national veterinary colleges in total." Currently, the service starts with musculoskeletal, chest, and heart size measurement for companion dogs, and plans to additionally develop abdominal services for companion dogs and chest and abdominal services for companion cats in the second half of the year, aiming to launch these services from next year.

SK Telecom sees sufficient market potential as the number of companion animal households in Korea approaches 15 million. Although there are about 4,000 animal hospitals, only 2,900 meet the X-ray equipment installation standard, which is 80%, and the number of specialized veterinarians in imaging diagnosis is only in the hundreds. The goal is to supply X Caliber to 100 hospitals this year. The internal target is to increase the adoption rate to 20% of the total market by next year and up to 40% in three to four years.

So why did a large corporation challenge the domestic companion dog diagnostic medical market, estimated at 10 billion KRW annually? The company plans to go a step further by expanding broadly into the animal insurance market and overseas markets. Ha Min-yong, SK Telecom's Chief Business Development Officer, said, "When asked if we will stop at veterinary solutions, I can say 'no,'" adding, "In the long term, we can consider the animal insurance market, and in terms of overseas expansion, we can think about countries with high companion animal-related expenditures such as the United States and Australia."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.