Making invisible pain cues easier to see
#ConceptDesign #MR #AR
May 2026 - Aug 2026
Collaborated with Ziying Yan
Cats cannot tell you where it hurts. Vets rely on subtle cues like flinching, muscle tension, or machines, but their hands are full and their attention keeps splitting between the animal and external monitors.
Every 10% drop in task load is linked to 33% lower odds of burnout (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2023). Small reductions in cognitive load during exams add up.
AR glasses that overlay a real-time thermal heatmap directly onto the animal, wrapping and moving with its body as it shifts. Thermal mode activates automatically as the vet approaches, leaning in reveals finer detail, and a single foot tap confirms a pain point, all without the vet's hands ever leaving the patient. At the end of the exam, a 3D model summarises every recorded pain point for the vet's review.
Thermal mode turns on automatically as the vet approaches the cat
Leaning in reveals finer detail, just like a real physical exam
The system detects a pain response via the Feline Grimace Scale
One foot tap saves the pain marker, hands stay free the whole time
A gesture sequence turns the overlay off
A 3D model recaps every pain point recorded during the exam
Thermal cameras and pain-scoring apps already exist in vet practice, but both pull the vet's attention away from the patient. We didn't invent new diagnostic methods, we moved the same tools into the vet's field of view.
Every step activates automatically, except turning the overlay off. We considered making that automatic too, but a false trigger mid-exam was too costly, so we kept one manual gesture, on purpose.
Expand to other modes beyond thermal and pain detection, and grow the target audience beyond small-animal vets.
