Samsung Electronics has jumped into the US veterinary device market in partnership with medical supplies distributor Henry Schein, the tech firm said on Tuesday.

Samsung, which estimated the US pet market at around $63 billion, unveiled its new blood test analyzer PT10V at the North American Veterinary Community conference this week in Florida. During the conference, PT10V was selected as one of the top five must-see products among the 700 participating companies, the company said.

“Entering the US market with numerous positive reviews of PT10V gave us high expectations for its launch. Samsung will contribute to helping animals avoid diseases by launching various diagnostic medical devices,” said Jun Dong-soo, President of Health & Medical Equipment Business at Samsung Electronics.

PT10V, which is one-third the size of conventional testers, examines up to 13 parameters at once, including liver profile, kidney profile and metabolic diseases. The test results are delivered to veterinarians within 10 minutes via apps. 

“Of the hundreds of samples evaluated during the study, no operative or functional errors occurred, showing consistent and reliable results,” said Dr. Andrew Loar, Lab Director of STAT Veterinary Lab under ETHOS.

Since the tests can be performed with only 70 microliters of blood, this can alleviate the concerns of pet owners, who often avoid the tests requiring large blood samples, according to Samsung.

Samsung plans to extend the number of new testing analyses for In-Vitro Diagnostic devices and also add veterinary products for imaging devices, such as an ultrasound system, to establish a total solution for the pet healthcare market which is expected to show a sustainable growth.

Henry Schein’s President Peter McCarthy said, “We are pleased to join Samsung in launching the PT10V at this year’s NAVC Conference as we continue to work with our customers to improve the efficiency and profitability of their practices.” 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)