SKT inks deal to release AI-based vet service in Canada, U.S.

SK Telecom has signed agreements with Canadian venture Nuon &Nikki and MyVet Imaging in the U.S. to integrate its X Caliber imaging service powered by AI.

SK Telecom's X Caliber is undergoing proof-of-concept testing at Ridgefield Park Animal Hospital in New Jersey to be commercialized across other U.S. facilities by the third quarter of this year. [SK TELECOM]

SK Telecom, Korea’s largest mobile carrier, is gearing up to launch its AI-based veterinary medical service in the North American market, having signed contracts with Canada’s Nuon&Nikki and the U.S. distributor MyVet Imaging.

SK Telecom on Monday announced the agreements signed with the respective companies and the debut of its service, X Caliber, in Canada next month. In the U.S., the service is scheduled for commercialization by the third quarter of this year.

Nuon&Nikki is a joint venture formed in October 2023 by Nuon Imaging and Nikki Health Solution, which will integrate its veterinary imaging software Skyline Picture Archiving & Communication System for Vets (Sky PACS) with X Caliber. The merged service will be available in 100 clinics across Canada by August.

The signing ceremony was held in Toronto, attended by executives from both companies, including Son In-hyuk, SK Telecom’s vice president and head of Global Solution AIX, and Nuon&Nikki co-CEOs Mark Little and PJ Mohajer.

Son In-hyuk, SK Telecom’s vice president and head of Global Solution AIX, far right, and co-CEOs of Nuon&Nikki, Mark Little, far left, and PJ Mohajer pose for the photo after signing a distribution deal to integrate X Caliber to Nuon&Nikki's veterinary imaging software Skyline Picture Archiving & Communication System for Vets. [SK TELECOM]

SK Telecom also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. veterinary imaging distributor MyVet Imaging, the company said on Monday. X Caliber is currently in the proof-of-concept stage at Ridgefield Park Animal Hospital in New Jersey.

North America represents the largest share of the global pet market at 43.14 percent, or an estimated $124 billion in 2023, followed by Europe’s 26.43 percent and Asia’s 23.38 percent, according to market researcher Precedence Research.

The domestic carrier has been actively working to expand its presence in the overseas veterinary market with X Caliber, signing distribution deals in Australia and Indonesia back in May.

With X Caliber’s global expansion, SK Telecom plans to roll out two additional AI auto-measurement functions to measure the heart size of dogs and cats, a preventive method against heart diseases.

The Vertebral Left Atrium Size (VLAS) auto-measurement, which measures the size of the left atrium in dogs’ chest radiographs, will be added to the service in the third quarter. VLAS has an accuracy of 93 percent, and received approval from Korea’s Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency last month.

The auto-measurement for cats, Cardio-Thoracic Ratio (CTR), analyzes thoracic diseases and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or the thickening of heart muscles without an external cause. The function will get a beta release in the third quarter.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]