Companion animal tests

Tests for
companion animals

MI:RNA is advancing diagnostic tests for cardiac disease in pets, alongside ongoing development of tests for kidney disease, osteoarthritis, cancer, and heartworm disease.

How early diagnosis can help with preclinical disease in pets

Chronic diseases in pets often have a long preclinical phase, which frequently goes unnoticed. Signs can be subtle or absent, making early detection challenging.

However, when early detection of preclinical disease is available, it provides diagnostic insights for the clinician, helping to shape client communication and decision-making.

The problem that needed solving

Identifying cardiac disease in small animals can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Clinical signs may be vague, non-specific, or absent; heart murmurs can be difficult to interpret over time and may not reflect disease severity; and concurrent respiratory disease can complicate the interpretation of diagnostic imaging. As a result, it is not always straightforward to determine the presence or stage of heart disease.
Availability and cost can also be an issue. Echocardiograms are sometimes hard to come by; and since signs can’t be seen during the preclinical phase, pet carers can be less willing to spend money on screening.¹
In addition, radiographs can be stressful on the pet and may require sedation for patients.

Myxomatous mitral valve disease

Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common heart disease in dogs² – especially in small dogs and those over 13 years old.^2–4 Slowly progressive degenerative lesions ultimately lead to congestive heart failure (CHF).^2,3 Early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention can help prolong the symptom-free period by around 15 months.⁵

Dilated
cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common form of heart disease in large breed dogs.⁶ There’s currently no blood test that can definitely diagnose preclinical DCM in dogs.⁶ Early diagnosis of preclinical DCM can ensure the timely removal of affected dogs from active breeding programmes and trigger early treatment, increasing the symptom-free period and lifespan.⁷

Hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common form of feline heart disease, affecting around 15% of all cats and 29% of older cats.^8,9 Preclinical HCM can lead to renal damage, changes in cardiac function and aortic thromobembolism.^9,10

1.Oyama MA. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2013;43:1261-72, vi.
2.Keene BW, Atkins CE, Bonagura JD, et al. Vet Intern Med. 2019;33:1127–1140.
3. Mattin MJ, Boswood A, Church DB, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2015;29:847-54.
4.Sisson D. WSAVA Congress 2002, Granada, Spain.
5.Boswood A, Häggström J, Gordon SG, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2016;30:1765-1779.
6.Wess G. J Vet Cardiol. 2022;40:51-68.
7.Summerfield NJ, Boswood A, O'Grady MR, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2012;26:1337-49.
8.Payne JR, Brodbelt DC, Luis Fuentes V. J Vet Cardiol. 2015;17 Suppl 1:S244-57.
9. Luis Fuentes V, Abbott J, Chetboul V, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2020;34:1062-1077.
10. Liu M, Köster LS, Fosgate GT, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2020;34:1078-1090.

See Citations

The MI:RNA solution

The MI:RNA platform is soon to launch tests which use blood-based biomarkers to detect and stage cardiac disease, enabling more pets to be tested.

These new tests can accurately identify three types of heart disease – MMVD, DCM and HCM – at preclinical and clinical stages, from a blood sample.

Crucially, the tests will be able to help to discriminate between heart conditions and disease stages, which is not currently possible with NT-proBNP or Troponin-1.

With early diagnosis, veterinarians will be empowered to make early therapeutic interventions based on evidence-based decisions – and potentially change the trajectory of the disease.

Read our research publication on diagnosis of MMVD using miRNAs.

Osteoarthritis (OA)

Many dogs may live with undetected OA for a large proportion of their lives. This is because canine OA often develops in young dogs, secondary to developmental joint disease. However, the majority of OA is diagnosed in dogs aged between 8 and 13 years.¹ Earlier detection and intervention has been shown to provide the greatest potential for providing effective management of OA, reducing pain and slowing deterioration.^1,2

Chronic kidney disease (CKD)

Feline CKD is the leading cause of mortality in cats over 5 years of age. However, while diagnosis of azotemic CKD is straightforward, diagnosis of early, non-azotemic CKD is challenging, and renal damage often goes undetected until 75% of the nephrons have been lost.³
In addition, staging of CKD based on protein biomarkers can be affected by the cat’s muscle mass and hydration status.⁴

Cancer

Cancer is one of the most common causes of companion animal death. Many cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when clinical signs have appeared and prognosis is poor.⁵

Earlier detection with a blood-based assay will facilitate earlier detection and treatment planning, and is minimally invasive compared with traditional diagnostics such as radiography and tissue biopsies.⁵

1. Cachon T, Frykman O, Innes JF, et al. Vet J. 2018;235:1–8.
2. Lefort-Holguin M, Delsart A, Frézier M, et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2025;27:1098612X251347999.
3. Vanden Broecke E, Van Mulders L, De Paepe E, et al. Sci Rep. 2025;15:6875.
4. Sparkes AH, Caney S, Chalhoub S, et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2016;18:219–39.
5. Alshammari AH, Oshiro T, Ungkulpasvich U, et al. Animals. 2025;15:389.
6. Noack S, Harrington J, Carithers DS, et al. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist. 2021;16:65–89.

See Citations

This game-changing potential is now a reality

The MI:RNA platform is truly the first of its kind, and is set to transform diagnostics for pets and production animals. We have a groundbreaking pipeline of research and development for both companion animals and production animals, with some tests soon to be made available through our growing global network of laboratories.