The Technology

Multi-sensor
fusion.
Measurable results.

Five sensor systems. One AI. Continuous data fusion that catches what your vet — and your eyes — can't. We didn't invent pain detection. We made it something a collar can do.

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GAIT MOTION HEART RATE TEMP THERMAL VOCAL ACOUSTIC AI FUSION ENGINE 24 / 7 CONTINUOUS
The Sensor Stack

Five systems.
One picture.

01
Gait Analysis
6-axis IMU captures stride symmetry, step timing, and limb load distribution at 200Hz. Asymmetry patterns reveal pain before limping begins.
200Hz · ±16g · ±2000°/s
02
Cardiac Monitoring
Optical PPG measures heart rate and HRV continuously. Elevated resting HR and compressed HRV are clinically validated pain biomarkers.
PPG · 1–250 BPM · HRV ms
03
Thermal Sensing
Precision thermistor detects localized temperature elevation — a direct indicator of inflammation at the injury site, measurable before swelling is visible.
±0.1°C · 0.01°C resolution
04
Acoustic Analysis
MEMS microphone detects vocalizations in the 200–800Hz range associated with pain. AI distinguishes pain whimpers from normal vocalization patterns.
MEMS · 20Hz–20kHz · −26dBFS
0%

of behavioral complaints in dogs have an underlying pain component — most owners never connect the dots.

Dogs evolved to mask discomfort. By the time limping or withdrawal appears, the condition has often been present for weeks. — Validated by Dr. Zachary Pollack, DVM, Perfect Paw Veterinary Advisor.

Pain detection timeline
Without The Ruff — owner notices limping Weeks later
With The Ruff — gait asymmetry flagged Early onset
The AI

How The Ruff
thinks about pain.

01
Raw sensor fusion
All five sensor streams are sampled simultaneously at 200Hz and timestamped to the millisecond. Data is fused on-device before transmission.
02
Baseline calibration
The model establishes a personal baseline for each dog across the first 7 days. Breed, age, size, and activity patterns are factored into individual thresholds.
03
Anomaly detection
A transformer-based model trained on thousands of hours of canine motion data identifies multivariate deviations from baseline that correlate with pain states.
04
Alert + vet report
When confidence exceeds threshold, an alert fires with a structured pain report — including affected body region, confidence score, and 7-day trend — ready for the vet.
Live multivariate feed
Gait asymmetry
Heart rate
Temperature delta
Vocalization
Pain Biomarkers

What The Ruff
actually reads.

Kinematic
Stride Symmetry Index
The ratio between left and right limb swing duration. Pain causes measurable asymmetry well before visible lameness. Validated against force plate gait analysis.
Published
Gait asymmetry linked to pain in peer-reviewed literature
Autonomic
Heart Rate Variability
Compressed HRV is a robust indicator of sympathetic nervous system activation associated with acute and chronic pain states across mammals.
Established
HRV as pain biomarker validated across mammalian studies
Inflammatory
Local Thermal Gradient
Site-specific temperature elevation correlates with inflammatory response at the pain source. Detectable 12–48 hours before edema becomes palpable.
Detectable
Thermal elevation precedes visible swelling at inflammation sites
Acoustic
Pain Vocalization Pattern
Frequency and amplitude analysis of vocalizations in the 200–800Hz band. Pain-associated sounds have distinct spectral signatures distinguishable from play or excitement.
Distinct
Pain vocalizations have unique spectral signatures vs. normal sounds
Behavioral
Activity Reduction Index
Calibrated against personal baseline, not population averages. A 15% step reduction for this dog matters — even if the absolute count looks normal.
Earlier
Activity reduction precedes owner-observed behavioral change
Composite
Multi-Signal Pain Score
Weighted fusion of all biomarkers into a single 0–100 pain confidence score. Correlated with CBPI and CMPS-SF clinical pain assessment tools.
Aligned
Multi-signal scoring designed around CBPI and CMPS-SF frameworks
Thousands+
Hours of training data
All
Breeds
Continuous monitoring across all sizes
All
Sizes
From chihuahuas to great danes
Up to 0d
Earlier than visible symptoms*
What is Pain?
Peer-Reviewed — JAVMA, Vol 221, No. 2 — 2002
What is Pain? — Robertson, S.A.
A foundational AVMA paper establishing that animals experience pain, cannot communicate it verbally, and that behavioral biomarkers are the primary detection mechanism. The science The Ruff is built on.
Robertson SA. JAVMA 2002;221(2):202–205. University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
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The science is
ready.

The Ruff is built on published biomarker research, veterinary-validated pain scoring, and a transformer model trained on more canine motion data than any prior study.

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