Decorte Future Industries, a Cambridge-based start-up using groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) to extract health data from sound, has launched Sonus Health — a first-of-its-kind app that allows pet owners and vets to check a pet’s heart and overall health using only a smartphone microphone.
The technology, co-developed with leading veterinary cardiologists, delivers accuracy equivalent to in-clinic health assessments for a fraction of the cost.
Veterinary care is in crisis. During the first year of COVID, over 150 million new pets joined households globally — the largest jump recorded in history. By the age of six or seven, 40 - 60% of pets develop chronic conditions, while veterinary prices have risen by more than 60% since 2015. Faced with costs of up to $1,600 for advanced diagnostics, many pet owners are being forced into the devastating decision of euthanasia, with recent reports showing a significant rise in such cases due to unaffordable care.
Sonus Health uses groundbreaking AI to extract complex health information from sound, specifically from sound recorded by a standard smartphone microphone. Pet owners simply place the phone against their pet’s chest to receive instant preliminary readings on heart rate, heart rate variability and murmur indications, followed by a detailed health report reviewed by a veterinary cardiologist that can identify anything from whether the pet is in pain to complex indications of serious disease. Each successful scan loops in a Diplomate in Veterinary Cardiology, the highest qualification in the field, a consultation with whom normally would cost northward of $1,000. Sonus Health is already in use with over a dozen veterinary clinics worldwide who were granted early access, including one of the largest vet groups in the UK. Over 160 clinics across Australia, the Middle East, India, China, South America, North America, Africa and Europe have so far signed up to the global waitlist.
Alongside the launch, the company has appointed new members to its leadership team. Daniel Steele, founder and CEO of one of Europe’s largest booking platforms, having grown that company from 0 to 1 million users and 0 to £50 million in bookings, has joined as CTO. Linda Jiang, former COO of Wluper and co-founder of what grew to be China’s largest mobile data analytics company, ultimately acquired by Alibaba, joins as CRO. Leading veterinary cardiologist Laurent Locquet, who heads an online school of 400 veterinary cardiologists, joins as Head Veterinarian.
Dr Roeland P-J E Decorte, Founder and CEO of Decorte Future Industries, said:“Pet healthcare is reaching a breaking point. Millions of new pets joined households during Covid, the largest surge in recorded history. In 2026, virtually all of these pandemic pets are reaching the age when complex conditions typically emerge. The result is a looming ‘petpocalypse’: a wave of ageing pets arriving just as costs have risen dramatically and veterinary capacity is under strain. Already today, news stories appear almost weekly reporting on owners, clinics and insurers being overwhelmed. Too often, the result is pets suffering in silence or being put down because treatment is unaffordable. Sonus Health gives the world a groundbreaking new tool to change that, and to brace for what’s coming.”
“Bringing in senior stakeholders from some of the largest veterinary hospital groups worldwide also means we have the technology, industry and clinical expertise to deliver this at scale. For the first time, specialist-level assessment and triage will be available to any pet owner, nurse or veterinarian with a smartphone. We are giving every pet a voice and helping them to live longer, healthier lives.”
