Susanna Samuelsson created a virtual clinic for remote pet owners to take their animals to the vet - without leaving the house.
Dr Samuelsson gained an understanding of the tyranny of distance over 7 years working with geographically isolated pets as owner of the Gove veterinary clinic.
"This (i-Vet) came out of necessity,” she said, “Pet owners were contacting us from all around East Arnhem Land wanting help with their pets."
“They’d try to tell you what they thought was wrong, and it wasn’t until we started video conferencing that we realised the owner often missed vital symptoms.
“We could then work out what was wrong and we’d send medication or organise for the pet to get to the nearest vet clinic.”
More than just video conferencing, i-Vet provides a stable online platform for video consultations, an online booking and payment system, an emergency on-call vet and instructional videos.
She said i-Vet, which was created in 2015, has the potential to be helpful for people isolated by illness and disability as well.
"Some of my family members have disabilities and I see how hard it is for some people to get to a vet clinic. This brings access to veterinary care into their homes."
She credits the Business Innovation Support Initiatives voucher, through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade as being key to the development of the website.
“Without the voucher I doubt we would have been able to come to this final product,” she said.
The system is being piloted in the Nhulunbuy region, before being launched to the world.
