Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY), a digital health company transforming care with handheld, whole-body, multi-species diagnostic imaging, and Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo announced an expansion of their partnership. The School of Veterinary Medicine has acquired additional Butterfly iQ+ Vet probes to assign every incoming veterinary student with a device for the duration of their veterinary education.
This builds on TTU’s 2021 investment in Butterfly iQ Vet probes, which will now be used for clinical faculty and staff. This agreement also allows graduating School of Veterinary Medicine students to purchase a Butterfly probe upon graduation at a student rate, ensuring they can put the newest equipment and training to work immediately.
“We are thrilled to continue this extraordinary partnership with the School of Veterinary Medicine in reimagining and expanding how veterinary healthcare is delivered,” said Jenna Mutch, Butterfly Network’s Vice President, Veterinary. “Equipping each student with a Butterfly iQ+ Vet from the first day of vet school allows students to learn with the benefit of 3D visualization within each phase of their training, from anatomy to clinical case experience. This develops clinical confidence and proficiency that translates into real-world veterinary practice. The School of Veterinary Medicine is on the leading edge of innovative point-of-care clinical assessment in veterinary medicine, empowering students to not only read and learn, but to see and learn–and we are proud to be a part of this evolution.”
Butterfly iQ+ Vet is embedded in the curriculum and is used in a variety of hands-on skills training courses throughout all four years of instruction, including the clinical year curriculum alongside the School of Veterinary Medicine’s practice partners. During the fourth year, their clinical year, students will have the opportunity to take their probe into rural and regional communities to practice, learn, and bring value to these locations. The affordability and portability of the Butterfly probe makes it easier to deliver more informed decision-making across all care settings.
“We are integrating point of care ultrasonography starting in first semester and continuing throughout their education,” said John Dascanio, VMD, DACT, DABVP (Equine), Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, and Professor of Theriogenology at the School of Veterinary Medicine. “Our goal is for students to be practice ready for their clinical community-based final year so that they are helping lead diagnostics in clinical practices. The sequence across 6 pre-clinical semesters allows students to build skills and practice so that they are able to recognize what is normal and identify common abnormalities. This is leading them toward confidence and competence as they practice on their own.”
Additionally, Butterfly’s veterinary specialists provide hands-on education and didactic, customized learning, which is critical to ultrasound adoption. This assists with visualization and understanding of anatomy while reinforcing physical skills required to accurately drive a probe. Equipping students with this clinical assessment tool from the first day of vet school empowers them to more deeply learn and practice in an educational setting.
“Point of care ultrasound is becoming a standard of care in veterinary practice, yet traditionally has been one of those skills one would acquire post-graduation,” said Bethany Schilling, DVM, Assistant Professor of General Veterinary Practice at the School of Veterinary Medicine. “By working with handheld ultrasound devices and instruction from subject matter experts, we are giving our students the unique ability to develop and hone their skills for 3 years prior to entering their clinical year with our practice partners. In addition to a great diagnostic tool, ultrasound technology is a great way to help solidify a student’s understanding of anatomy and assist with the development of their physical exam skills. Integrating ultrasonography is helping us fulfill our mission of graduating confident, competent veterinarians.”
Butterfly iQ+ Vet is the world’s only single probe, whole-body, multi-species imaging system. The iQ+ Vet is the second-generation of Butterfly’s veterinary ultrasound device and brings sharper imaging, new procedural guidance tools such as Needle VizTM, and hardware improvements that make the solution more powerful, versatile and easy-to-use compared to the first generation iQ Vet.
Veterinarians can request more information about Butterfly iQ+ Vet at vet.butterflynetwork.com.
Learn more about the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine here.
About Butterfly Network
Founded by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg in 2011 and listed on the NYSE through a merger with Longview Acquisition Corp (NYSE: BFLY), Butterfly Network is the creator of the world’s most advanced handheld, single-probe, whole-body veterinary ultrasound system, Butterfly iQ+ Vet. Butterfly’s mission is to enable universal access to superior medical imaging, and part of that mission is to enable the scanning of every animal at each veterinary visit. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-ChipTM technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. The Butterfly iQ+ Vet can be purchased online by veterinary practitioners in approved countries at the store or by contacting sales.
About Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine
Thanks to the generosity of Amarillo and communities across Texas and the commitment of legislators from around the state, the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo was established in 2018. In March 2021, the school was granted the status of Provisional Accreditation, from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education (COE).
The School of Veterinary Medicine recruits and selects students with deep life experiences in rural and regional communities. Its curriculum is focused on the competencies and skills necessary for success in practice types that support these communities. Texas Tech’s innovative and cost-efficient model partners with the wider community of veterinary practices across the state to provide clinical, real-world experiential learning.
