Future Iris Identification Technology to Identify and Track Horses

Global Animal Management, Inc. (GAM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and market a non-invasive biometric iris animal identification system. GAM will collaborate with Sarnoff Corporation in the development of the GAM-Cam, the first portable equine iris capture and identification device to identify and track horses. The GAM-Cam will be part of the animal identification solution, Eye-D.

The GAM-Cam is a portable device that will quickly capture the image of the horse’s iris with a low-visibility infrared light source. The non-invasive device will help reduce stress in horses brought on by present methods of identification, which include tattooing, microchipping and manually checking marks on horses.

“Eye-D will encourage the industry to rally around one common standard of uniquely identifying horses, and in the future, build upon those standards to make the industry function more efficiently and reliably, says Jim Heinle, president, Global Animal Management.

The GAM-Cam uses the unique features of an animal iris to establish an identification code in much the same way that iris identification has been perfected for humans. “Accessible and fraud-resistant methods of identifying horses will facilitate a more uniform standard upon which the equine industry can build data and valuable information services,” adds Heinle. “The Eye-D solution will enable transactions, registrations, health management and related industry management practices.” The Eye-D solution incorporating the GAM-Cam will be on the market in late 2010.