Automatic early detection of induced colic in horses using accelerometer devices

Background: To seek appropriate veterinary attention for horses with colic, owners must recognise early signs. Direct observation of horse behaviour has several drawbacks: it is time-consuming, hard to see subtle and common behavioural signs, and is based on intuition and subjective decisions. Due to recent advances in wearables and artificial intelligence, it may be possible to develop diagnostic software that can automatically detect colic signs. Objectives: To develop a software algorithm to aid in the detection of colic signs and levels of pain. Study designIn vivo experiments. Methods: Transient colic was induced in eight experimental mares with luteolytic doses of prostaglandin. Veterinarians observed the horses before and throughout the interventions and assigned pain scores which were used to separate colic episodes into none (pain score <= 5), level 1 (pain score 6-10) or level 2 (pain score >= 11). Accelerometric data and videos were collected throughout the experiments and using accelerometric data, the horse's behaviour was classified into normal and 10 pain-related behaviours and an activity index was calculated. Models were designed that utilised behaviour and activity index characteristics both detecting the presence of colic and assessing its severity. To determine the accuracy of the model, the ground truth, that is the veterinarians' observation of colic signs and assessment of pain level, was compared with the automatic detection system. Results: The cross-validation analysis demonstrated an accuracy of 91.2% for detecting colic and an accuracy of 93.8% in differentiating between level 1 colic and level 2 colic. The model was able to accurately classify 10 pain-related behaviours and distinguish them from normal behaviour with a high accuracy. Main limitationsWe included a limited number of horses with severe pain related behaviours in the dataset. This constraint affects the accuracy of categorising colic severity rather than limiting the algorithms' capacity to identify early colic signs. Conclusions: Our system for early detection of colic in horses is unique and innovative, and it can distinguish between colic of varying severity.