A low-cost instrumented vital signs testbed for efficient pet sterilization

Advances in technology have changed the way we live. This change has even reached the pet industry. Humans have realized along time the importance of caring for animals. Within such care, sterilization is a very important point for domestic animals. The governments of different countries have created campaigns for mass sterilization of animals to improve their quality of life. However, in developing countries, there are limited budgets directly affecting the quality of the material and equipment for this purpose. Because of this, in this paper, we show the development of a low-cost sterilization bed that will reduce process time, increasing safety and quality. The prototype encompasses heart rate and oxygenation sensors, allowing the animal's vital symptoms to be always monitored. The experimental bed system has sensors to calculate the weight, temperature, and heart rate of the animal, without the need to move it to different places and to be able to monitor it continuously during surgery. Regarding the methodology, average response times of surgery in small animals (dogs and cats) are analyzed, vital signs measurement parameters are compared, and efficiency and cost are verified compared to conventional beds. It is concluded that the proposed measuring bed is an effective and economical alternative in surgical interventions in small animals. Key Words: Pets, Sterilization, Testbed, Vital signs.