FR3024654A1 - DEVICE FOR MONITORING THE HEALTH, FERTILITY AND / OR WELL-BEING OF A SWINE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig to be secured to an ear of said pig. According to the invention, such a device comprises in particular: means for measuring the components of the acceleration of said device along three orthogonal axes; means for measuring, by infrared, the temperature of a portion of said ear; optical luminescence measurement means forming an oximeter for measuring oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; means for processing said measurement of the components of the acceleration, of said temperature measurement and of said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear, comprising: means for determining the position and / or displacement and / or trampling and / or ingestion and / or overlap and / or respiratory rate and / or activity level of said swine from said measurement of the components of the acceleration; means for determining the cardiac rhythm of said swine from said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; - Means for determining a body temperature of said pig from said temperature measurement and data of a clock to take into account the circadian temperature of said porcine.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention is that of animal husbandry and in particular animal monitoring. More specifically, the invention relates to a device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig. The invention finds particular application in the detection of a health disorder, fertility and / or well-being occurring in a pig. 2. State of the art In a pig farm, many diseases can affect the percentage of mortality, the growth and fattening performance, or the consumption index. For example, animals with rhinitis or pneumonia have slower growth than healthy animals. In addition, lameness, which results from an abnormal development of the animal's hooves, is the second factor of reform in breeding sows. It has also been observed that stress impedes the growth of pigs.

Some animals are also affected by the porcine stress syndrome, which can cause a sudden death of the animal during transport and / or make the meat unfit for sale. These conditions can be manifested by abnormal activity, coughing or sneezing, increased heart rate or hyperthermia. It has been proposed to equip pigs with a breeding of sensors, in order to monitor the appearance of characteristic signs of a pathology. A technique of implanting a temperature sensor into the vaginal canal of a sow is known to measure its internal temperature.

A disadvantage of this invasive technique is that there are risks of infection and / or irritation. In addition, the positioning of the sensor in the genital tract is delicate. Another known technique is to equip the animal's belly or neck with non-invasive sensors held by a harness or collar. A disadvantage of this harness or collar technique is that it presents a danger to the animal if it is too tight. Another disadvantage of this known technique is that the harness or collar can be torn off by the animal wearing it or by a congener.

10 It has also been thought to set up a temperature sensor on the ear of a sow, to control pregnancy. This known technique, however, does not detect a pathology, such as rhinitis, or stress in animals. 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is therefore in particular to overcome the disadvantages of the state of the art cited above. More specifically, the invention aims to provide a health monitoring technique and / or the state of a pig which is reliable. An object of the invention is also to provide such a technique for real-time monitoring of the health and / or condition of a pig. In a particular embodiment of the invention, an object of the invention is to detect the heat and / or the imminence of the birth of a sow. Another object of the invention is to provide a technique for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig that is simple to implement, and a reduced cost. 4. Presentation of the invention These objectives, as well as others which will appear later, are achieved by means of a device for monitoring the health and / or the state of a pig to be joined together. at an ear of said pig.

According to the invention, such a device for monitoring the health and / or the state of a pig comprises: means for measuring the components of the acceleration of said device along three orthogonal axes; Means for measuring, by infrared, the temperature of a portion of said ear; optical luminescence measurement means forming an oximeter for measuring oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; Means for processing said measurement of the components of the acceleration, of said temperature measurement and of said measurement of the oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear, comprising: means for determining the position and / or a change of position and / or displacement and / or trampling and / or ingestion and / or overlap and / or respiratory rate and / or activity level of said piggy from said measurement of the components of the acceleration; means for determining the heart rate of said swine from said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; means for determining a body temperature of said swine from said temperature measurement and data of a clock in order to take into account the circadian rhythm of temperature of said swine; means for detecting a disease state, starting from said activity level and said body temperature and / or the duration of ingestion, and / or means for detecting a limp, from the position and / or changes in position and / or displacements and / or the duration of said trampling associated with ingestion and / or said level of activity of said pig, and / or means for detecting a state of heat, from said level of activity, and / or means for detecting the preparatory phase of the farrowing of said swine, from said activity level, the respiratory rate and said body temperature of said swine; means for generating a radiocommunication signal configured to generate said signal when an occurrence of said disease state, said lameness, said heat state or said preparatory farrowing phase of said pig is detected; means for transmitting said generated signal to a relay collector or a terminal.

Thus, in a novel way, the invention proposes to implement a device placed on the ear of a pig that can evaluate both the movements, temperature variations and heart rate of the animal. . With this device, it is thus possible to monitor the appearance of respiratory diseases, lameness, under-activity and / or hyperthermia in animals. This device can also allow, thanks to the measurements of the components of the acceleration, temperature and / or oxygen saturation, representative of the heart rate, to detect heat or farrowing.

It also makes it possible to monitor the well-being of the animal, and in particular if the animal is stressed, by observing the animal's heart rate in situations where the animal is at rest, identified by the measures of the animals. components of acceleration. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said means for determining the cardiac rhythm of said pig from said measurement of the oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear are activities said means for determining the position of said porcine estimate said pig is in a lying position and at rest. It is thus possible to follow the evolution of the cardiac rhythm of the pig at rest.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, said means for detecting a state of heat detect said heat state from said level of activity and said body temperature of said swine. According to a particular aspect of the invention, said means for detecting the preparatory phase of the farrowing of said swine detect said preparatory phase of farrowing from said level of activity, respiratory rate, heart rate and said body temperature of said pig. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, within said means for detecting the preparatory phase of the farrowing of said swine, said body temperature of said swine is corrected for the difference in temperature of the room where said pig is housed by relative to a reference room temperature. Preferably, said oximeter is a transmission oximeter.

Advantageously, said radio communication signal is a digital signal. In a particular embodiment of the invention, an identifier of said device is encapsulated in said digital signal. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, such a device is formed of two parts that can be clipped together. According to a particular aspect of the invention, said two parts are configured so as to be fixed and secured together with a clamp on said ear. In a particular embodiment of the invention, a monitoring device as described above comprises means for storing data intended to store at least one date of insemination and / or a date of observation of a gestation. and / or the date of a hormonal treatment administered to said pig. It is thus possible to select over which period it is useful to activate a detection of the preparatory phase of farrowing. Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention, given as a simple illustrative and nonlimiting example, and attached drawings of which: FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment system of a surveillance system according to the invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B are detailed views of the monitoring device presented with reference to FIG. 1, respectively before and after fixation on the ear of the animal; FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the monitoring device illustrated in FIG. 2. Detailed Description of the Invention 6.1 Example of an Embodiment of the Invention An exemplary embodiment has been illustrated in FIG. a monitoring system according to the invention implemented within a pig farm. This system 10 comprises a device 11 for monitoring the health and / or condition of a sow 12 attached to an ear of the sow 12 and a collector 13, for retransmitting the radio signals emitted by the device 11 in the 2.4GHz or 433MHz band to a data server 14 hosting a database 15 for storing the information contained in the received signals. In this embodiment of the invention, the data of the radio signals are transmitted between the collector 13 and the server 14 in the GPRS standard. The server 14 makes it possible to transmit, via the collector 13, voice alert messages or SMS messages to the smartphone 16 of the breeder, when a pathology or the phase of preparation of a farrowing is detected in the animal.

Access to the database 15 is also provided via a web service 17.

Figures 2A and 2B are detail views of the monitoring device 11 respectively before and after attachment to the ear of the animal. As can be seen in Figure 2A, the device 11 is formed of two parts 21 and 22 assembling by clipping, using a clamp.

The assembly forms a device of about 38g. Part 21, which is mounted on the outside of the ear has a substantially circular contour base extending along its axis by a tube 23 for receiving the tip 24 of the part 22. The part 22 is mounted on the inside the ear.

The tip 24 pierces the ear of the animal. It is slotted to facilitate insertion of the tip 24 into the tube. The slot 25, which is engaged on a metal pin 26 formed in the bottom of the tube 23 also allows to position the parts 22 and 21 relative to each other. It provides the electrical connection between the printed circuits of the two parts 21 and 22. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the circular base of the portion 22 has a diameter of 3.5 centimeters. The length of the tube 23 and the tip 24 is substantially equal to the thickness of the ear of the animal.

In FIG. 3, which is a sectional view of the device 11, it can be seen that the device 11 contains, in the part 22, a three-axis accelerometer 31 and an infra-red temperature sensor 32 fixed on an electronic card 33 , and a light sensor 34 for receiving the light radiation emitted by the light source 35 mounted on the part 21.

The light sensor 34 and the light source 35 are those of a transmissive oximeter 36. The card 33 has a random access memory and a microcontroller (not shown in FIG. 3) for processing measurements made by the accelerometer 31, the temperature sensor 32 and the oximeter 36, so as to detect a disease state, a lameness, heat or a preparatory phase of farrowing in the sow.

For this purpose, the processor of the microcontroller executes, in this particular embodiment of the invention, a first application which determines every minute the average heart rate of the sow from the measurement of the oxygen saturation in the body. blood circulating in the ear, a body temperature of the sow, from the measurements of the infra-red temperature sensor 32 and microcontroller quartz clock data so as to take into account the circadian rhythm of temperature of the sow, and from the measurements of the acceleration components, the position of the sow, if she changed position, if she moved, if she trampled, if she ingested the food, if it rides a congener, what is its breathing rate and its activity level. The data generated by the first application is then processed by four other applications respectively for detecting the occurrence of a disease state, lameness, heat and the initiation of the preparatory phase of farrowing in the sow. where appropriate. Thus, a disease state is detected when a decrease in the level of activity associated with a rise in body temperature occurs over a day, especially if it exceeds 41 ° C, and / or a decrease in the duration of body temperature. daily ingestion. The occurrence of a lameness of the animal is detected when, over a day, there is a decrease in the number of trampling during meals and changes of position during the day, the time spent in standing is less than 8 hours , that the activity level and the number of displacements decreases and that the head movements are accentuated along the vertical axis. An occurrence of a heat state is detected when a week-down of at least 20% of the daily activity level for one to three days followed by an increase of at least 50% of the level of daily activity occurs. daily activity for 1 to 3 days.

Finally, the imminence of the farrowing is detected when a progressive increase of the body temperature of at least 0.5 ° C, an increase of at least 30% of the respiratory rate and a at least 30% increase in the activity level of the sow.

The microcontroller is also configured to generate a digital alert signal when an occurrence of a disease state, a lameness, a state of heat or the imminence of a farrowing is detected. The device 11 is also equipped with an antenna 37 making it possible to transmit, at regular intervals, the digital signals generated by the microcontroller to the collector 13. A battery 38 supplies the accelerometer, the light source of the oximeter, the printed circuit board and the antenna in energy. The battery life of this battery 38 is 5 years in normal use. Advantageously, the parts 21 and 22 of the device 11 are configured to be water and dust tight and are resistant to ammonia. Furthermore, the device 11 is arranged to be resistant to vibrations and shocks. 6.2Other optional features and advantages of the invention In variants of the embodiment of the invention detailed above, it is also possible to mount the monitoring device on a collar intended to be passed around the neck of the body. 'animal. In another variant, it may be envisaged, without departing from the scope of the invention, that the monitoring device is attached to an identification loop attached to the ear of the animal. 25

Claims (11)

REVENDICATIONS1. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig intended to be secured to an ear of said pig, characterized in that it comprises: means for measuring the components of the acceleration of said device according to three orthogonal axes; means for measuring, by infrared, the temperature of a portion of said ear; optical luminescence measurement means forming an oximeter for measuring oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; means for processing said measurement of the components of the acceleration, of said temperature measurement and of said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear, comprising: means for determining the position and / or a change of position and / or displacement and / or trampling and / or ingestion and / or over-lapping and / or respiratory rate and / or level of activity of said swine from said measurement of the components of the acceleration; means for determining the cardiac rhythm of said swine from said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear; - Means for determining a body temperature of said pig from said temperature measurement and data of a clock to take into account the circadian temperature of said porcine; means for detecting a disease state, starting from said activity level and said body temperature and / or the duration of ingestion, and / or means for detecting a limp, from the position and / or changes in position and / or displacements and / or duration of said trampling associated with ingestion and / or said level of activity of said pig, and / or means for detecting a state of heat from said level of activity, and / or means for detecting the preparatory phase of the farrowing of said swine, from said activity level, the respiratory rate and said body temperature of said swine; Means for generating a radio communication signal configured to generate said signal when an occurrence of said disease state, said lameness, said heat state or said preparatory farrowing phase of said pig is detected; means for transmitting said generated signal to a collector 10 forming a relay or a terminal. 2. Device for monitoring the health and / or state of a pig according to claim 1, characterized in that said means for determining the heart rate of said pig from said measurement of oxygen saturation in the blood circulating in said ear are activities said means 15 for determining the position of said porcine believe that said pig is in a supine position and at rest. 3. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said means for detecting a state of heat detect said heat state to From said activity level and said body temperature of said pig. 4. Device for monitoring the health and / or state of a pig according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said means for detecting the preparatory phase of farrowing said pig detect said preparatory phase of farrowing from said level of activity, respiratory rate, heart rate and said body temperature of said swine. 5. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that within said means for detecting the preparatory phase of farrowing said Pigs, said body temperature of said pig is corrected for the temperature difference of the room where said pig is housed with respect to a reference room temperature. The hog health and / or condition monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said oximeter is a transmission oximeter. 7. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said radio-communication signal is a digital signal. 8. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to claim 7, characterized in that an identifier of said device is encapsulated in said digital signal. 9. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is formed of two parts capable of being clipped together. 15 10. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to claim 9, characterized in that said two parts are configured so as to be fixed and secured to each other by means of a clip on said ear. 11. Device for monitoring the health and / or condition of a pig according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises data storage means for storing at least one date of insemination and / or a date of observation of a pregnancy and / or the date of a hormonal treatment administered to the pig.