SE1650396A1 - Tail-mounted sensor device for monitoring animal vital signs - Google Patents

Abstract

A sensing band for a tail-mounted sensor device for monitoring vital signs of an animal having a tail, wherein the sensing band comprises means for sensing heart rate and/or temperature of the animal and is adapted to be mounted around the tail and be releasably connected to the sensor device. Also provided is tail-mounted sensor device for monitoring vital signs of an animal, comprising a housing and a fastening device attached to the housing and adapted to fasten the sensor device on at least part of the tail, wherein the sensor device is adapted to receive a sensing band according to any preceding claim for releasable attachment thereto to provide an electrical connection between the sensing band and the sensor device, wherein the sensing band is separate from the fastening device. (Fig. 5)

Description

TAIL-MOUNTED SENSOR DEVICE FOR MONITORING ANIMAL VITAL SIGNS Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a tail-mounted sensor for healthmonitoring of animals, more particularly equine animals such as horses, donkeys, zeb- ras, mules and hinnies.

Background art

[0002] ln animal husbandry, it is of great importance to monitor vital signs and overallhealth of individual animals to ensure their welfare and quickly discover any injuries ordiseases. Vital signs include e.g. temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration,movement etc. However, continuous monitoring of vital signs is time-consuming and la-bour-intensive, since it requires round the clock surveillance of the individual animal.Even with only small numbers of animals, this is cost-intensive, if not impossible to carry out.

[0003] ln prior art, a number of solutions have been proposed to solve the problem ofcontinuous health monitoring of animals. Various devices comprising sensors, detectorsand/or probes for attachment to the body have been proposed, both in human and vet- erinary medicine, to assist in monitoring vital signs.

[0004] For example, US 4,630,613 discloses an apparatus and method for monitoringthe pulse rate of an animal having a tail comprising a pulse detector adapted to be fas-tened to the tail. The pulse detector comprises a flexible rubber diaphragm encasing afluid, wherein movement of the diaphragm caused by the pulse of the animal is detectedand transmitted to a remote signal analyser by means of a UHF transmitter.

[0005] US 2015/0257664 discloses a heart monitoring sensor comprising a printedcircuit board with a depressed inner area and a flexible bulb forming a sealed cavity. Apressure sensor is mounted within the sealed cavity. The bulb is releasably attachede.g. underneath the tail of a horse to detect the heart rate by detecting changes in pres-sure caused by the animal's heart pulse. CN 201767957 discloses a similar device us- ing piezoelectric film to acquire pulse information of large animals.

[0006] US 6,436,038 discloses an animal vital signs monitoring system comprising aprobe with a rectal thermometer and a cuff for pulse and blood pressure monitoringadapted to be wrapped around an extremity of the animal, ordinarily the tail.

[0007] WO 2013/186232 relates to a birthing sensor to be mounted on the tail of apregnant animal and comprises an accelerometer to detect movement patterns of theanimal indicative of the animal being in labour. Subsequently, an alert may be transmit- ted through wireless communication to the farmer or a veterinarian.

[0008] US 2010/0036277 discloses an animal temperature monitor comprising a tem-perature sensor adapted to be attached to the tail of the animal in a position betweenthe tail and the left and right buttocks.

[0009] WO 2015/107521 discloses a pet animal collar for monitoring vital signs such as temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and movement patterns.

[0010] Nevertheless, there remain disadvantages and problems associated with theprior art devices discussed above. Among others are discomfort or pain experienced bythe animal when wearing, complicated and time-consuming mounting of the sensor de-vice often requiring professional expertise, risk ofdislodging of the sensor device andpoor sensing accuracy.

[0011] Hence there is a need to develop improved sensor devices which are easy tomount, cause less discomfort to the animal and provide higher sensing accuracy.

Summary of invention

[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide an improved sensor devicewhich is easy to mount properly and provides improved sensing accuracy whilst mini-mising discomfort to the animal. This object is achieved in a first aspect of the presentinvention by providing a sensing band for a tail-mounted sensor device for monitoringvital signs of an animal having a tail, wherein the sensing band comprises means forsensing heart rate and/or temperature of the animal and is adapted to be mountedaround the tail and be releasably connected to the sensor device. By providing a sens-ing band comprising heart rate and/or temperature sensing means for releasable con- nection to a sensor device, easy mounting of the sensor device on the tail of the animal is achieved, which does not cause pain or discomfort and also ensures optimal sensingconditions to improve sensing accuracy and reliability.

[0013] ln an alternative embodiment, the sensing band is adapted to be mountedaround the underside of the dock of the tail. Since the underside of the dock is not cov-ered with hair, but instead presents bare skin, this is an ideal site for measurement ofheart rate and/or temperature of the animal.

[0014] ln an advantageous embodiment, the sensing band comprises a textile mate-rial and the means for sensing heart rate and/or temperature is woven or integrated intothe textile material. The textile material provides a comfortable surface in contact withthe tail and also protects the sensing means woven or embedded therein. Preferably,the textile material is a conductive textile material providing a plurality of contact pointsfor the heart rate and/or temperature sensing means with the tail. By thus increasing thenumber of contact points per unit area of the sensing band, improved sensitivity and ac-curacy of the heart rate and/or temperature measurements is achieved.

[0015] ln a further preferred embodiment, the sensing band comprises means for in-dicating a degree of tension of the sensing band when mounted on the tail. Preferably,the indicating means comprises a layer of different coloured textile material underneatha surface layer which becomes visible through the surface layer when a predeterminedtension is applied to the sensing band. The indication means gives quick and clear feed-back to the user if too much tension is applied when mounting the sensing band, thusensuring that the sensing band is properly placed and does not cause discomfort to the animal.

[0016] ln an alternative embodiment, the means for sensing heart rate and/or temper-ature comprises one or more electrodes. Electrodes provide robust and reliable meas-urement of heart rate and/or temperature without causing discomfort or pain to the ani- mal through excessive pressure.

[0017] ln an advantageous embodiment, the sensing band comprises a connectoradapted to be attached to the sensor device in order to provide an electrical connectionbetween the sensing band and the sensor device. By providing a connector, the sensing band may be attached and detached from the sensor device in a quick and simple man-ner, thus making the sensing band interchangeable between different sensor devices and allowing different sensing bands to be used with the same sensor device.

[0018] ln a further preferred embodiment, the connector comprises an ID chip foridentification of the sensing band. Thus, upon connecting the sensing band to the sen-sor device, the sensor device can determine which individual horse it belongs to. Thisalso makes it possible to correlate monitored vital signs and health status data withother information specific to that horse, such as weight, age, breed, sex, training sched-ule, competition results, healthcare treatments, injuries, equipment used (saddle, bridle,horseshoes) etc., retrieved from one or more external databases.

[0019] ln an alternative embodiment, the sensing band comprises an adjustable fas-tener adapted to be attached to the sensor device. The adjustable fastener may be ad-justably positioned along the sensing band to thereby adjust its length, which enablesindividual tailoring and customisation of the sensing band for optimal fit and comfort.

[0020] ln a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tail-mountedsensor device for monitoring vital signs of an animal, comprising a housing and afas-tening device attached to the housing and adapted to fasten the sensor device on atleast part of the tail, wherein the sensor device is adapted to receive a sensing band ac-cording to the first aspect of the present invention for releasable attachment thereto toprovide an electrical connection between the sensing band and the sensor device,wherein the sensing band is separate from the fastening device. By providing a sensordevice wherein the sensing band is separate from the fastening device, a more securemounting of the sensor device is achieved which does not depend on or interfere with the sensing band.

[0021] ln a preferred embodiment, the fastening device comprises a clip adapted tobe fastened to hair of the tail. With the hair on an animal tail, especially a horse tail, be-ing less sensitive to pressure, the clip may be fastened tighter around the hair thanaround the tail as a whole. This solution results in an improved and more secure fas-tening, thus reducing or even eliminating the risk of dislodging the sensor device. At thesame time, this minimises the pain and discomfort experienced by the horse.

[0022] ln an advantageous embodiment, the housing comprises means for sensingmovement of the tail. Preferably, the means for sensing movement of the tail comprisesat least one accelerometer and/or gyroscope. The movement sensors provide infor-mation about the horse's physical condition or state of mind, e.g. from gait, tail carriageand movement patterns of the horse which can be used to detect potential injuries ordiscomfort.

[0023] ln a further preferred embodiment, the housing comprises means for sensingambient temperature, ambient light and/or magnetic fields. By providing additional sen-sors in the housing not in direct contact with the animal, ambient conditions which mayaffect the animal can be recorded simultaneously with the detection and monitoring of vital signs. This additional information can be useful in understanding behaviour of the animal in specific conditions.

[0024] ln an alternative embodiment, the housing comprises a microprocessor,memory means for storing sensed data and means for wireless transmission of thesensed data to an external receiver. Under certain conditions when it is not possible orfeasible to transmit the sensed data from the sensor device to an external receiver, thesensed data may be stored in the sensor device and subsequently transmitted at a later point in time.

[0025] ln a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit comprising atleast one sensing band according to the first aspect and at least one sensor device ac-cording to the second aspect.

Brief description of drawinqs

[0026] The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the ac-companying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a sensor device according to a second aspect of the present invention in-cluding a housing and a sensing band; Fig. 2 shows a sensing band according to the first aspect of the present invention; Fig. 3 shows a top view of the sensor device before mounting of the sensing band; Fig. 4 shows a top profile view of the sensor device with the sensing band mounted;Fig. 5 shows the sensor device mounted on the tail of a horse; and Fig. 6 shows a schematic view of the components of the sensor device.

Description of embodiments

[0027] ln the following, a detailed description of a sensing band and a tail-mountedsensor device according to the present invention is presented. ln the drawing figures,like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements throughout theseveral figures. lt will be appreciated that these figures are for illustration only and arenot in any way restricting the scope of the invention.

[0028] As described above, the sensor device is especially adapted to equine ani-mals, but may of course be used on other animals having a tail such as e.g. cattle.Hereinafter, the invention will be described using a horse as exemplary animal, but thesame principles apply to other animals included in the definition above.

[0029] The tail 3 of a horse 2 and other equine animals consists of two parts, thedock 4 and the skirt 5, as shown in Fig. 5. The dock 4 constitutes the base of the tail 3and consists of the muscles and skin covering the coccygeal vertebrae. The term 'skirt'refers to the long hairs 5 that fall below the dock 4. On a horse, long, thick tail hairs 5begin to grow at the base of the tail 3, and grow along the top and sides of the dock 4.Hair does not grow at all on the underside of the dock 4. Hence, the underside of the dock 4 is an ideal site to sense and monitor vital signs of the horse 2.

[0030] ln the following, the term 'tail-mounted' shall be interpreted as encompassingany device or apparatus being adapted, arranged or configured to be mounted on thetail of an animal. lt is thus not limited to the case when the device or apparatus is defacto mounted on the tail.

[0031] Fig. 1 illustrates a tail-mounted sensor device 1 according to the present in-vention. The sensor device 1 comprises a housing 10 encasing electronic componentsto control and supply power to sensors included in the sensor device 1, such as heartrate sensors, temperature sensors, movement sensors, pressure sensors etc. The elec-trical components are typically provided on a printed circuit board as further describedbelow in connection with Fig. 6 and further comprises storage means for storing senseddata and wireless communication means in order to wirelessly transmit the sensed datato an external wireless receiver, either continuously in real time, periodically accordingto a predetermined schedule and/or anytime a wireless connection to the receiver is es-tablished.

[0032] ln normal operation, the sensor device 1 will sense and record vital signs dataas long as the sensor device 1 is mounted to the horse 2 in order to provide continuousmonitoring of the horse's vital signs and health status. During periods of rest or dailycare, the horse 2 will normally return to a stable, paddock or other fixed location,thereby enabling wireless transmission of stored sensed data to a receiver installed in afixed nearby location.

[0033] ln order to mount the sensor device 1 on the tail 3 of the horse, the sensor de-vice 1 comprises a fastening device 30 attached to the housing 10 as illustrated in Fig.4, and adapted to be fastened to at least part of the tail 3. The fastening device 30 thussecures the sensor device 1 on the tail 3. ln order to minimise or altogether prevent anypain or discomfort to the horse, the fastening device 30 may for instance comprise a re-leasable clip 31 adapted to be fastened on the hair 5 of the tail 3. The clip 31 may be inthe shape of a hair clip, hairslide, barrette or clasp which may be snapped into place onthe hair 5 of the horse tail 3 substantially without causing pain or discomfort to thehorse. Furthermore, the surface of the housing 10 facing the tail 3 when mounted maycomprise a high friction material, such as e.g. rubber, plastic or polymer materials, toprovide increased friction against the tail 3 and thereby prevent slipping.

[0034] The fastening device 30 may be exchangeable and thus detachable from thehousing 10. For example, the hair clip could be fastened to the housing 10 by means of guiding pins, screws or similar.

[0035] The sensor device 1 further comprises a sensing band 20 as shown in Figs. 1and 2, including means for sensing heart rate 21 and/or temperature 22 of the horse.The sensing band 20 is separate from the fastening device 30 and is adapted to bemounted around the tail 3 and attached to the housing 10 on opposite sides thereof.The sensing band 20 is thus brought into contact with the skin on the underside of thedock 4 of the tail 3, which is not covered with hair 5, providing optimal sensing condi-tions. The mounting of the sensing band 20 should not be too loose, which leads to de-creased skin contact and reduced sensing accuracy. At the same time, the sensingband 20 must not be too tight which may cut off blood circulation and cause discomfortor pain for the horse 2.

[0036] The sensing band 20 may comprise a textile material or fabric 23 which is gen-tle to the horse and/or a composite flexible material such as plastic or rubber to ensurestretch and firmness. For example, the central part 23 of the sensing band 20 which isto be brought into contact with the bare skin on the underside of the dock 4 may com-prise a textile material in order to ensure comfort, whereas the end part(s) 24 adapted tobe attached to the housing 10 may comprise flexible composite materials or stretch tex-tile materials to ensure proper mounting and tension for optimal sensing accuracy. Theheart rate sensor 21 may for instance be designed as a capacitive pulse measurementsystem including electronic components such as electrodes 25 woven or embedded intothe sensing band 20. The temperature sensor 22 may be an electrical temperature sen-sor also including electrodes 25. Fig. 2 illustrates schematically one example of howthe electrodes 25 may be placed and oriented within the sensing band 20. However, theplacement and orientation of the electrodes 25 is not limited to example shown in Fig. 2,but may be varied in any number of ways to ensure optimal measurement accuracy andmaximum number of contact points between the electrodes 25 and the bare skin on theunderside of the dock 4 of the tail 3.

[0037] ln one example, the sensing band 20 is made from a 'smart textile', i.e. con-ductive fabrics arranged to be connected to an aggregating unit, such as the sensor de-vice 1, using a flexible printed circuit board. Both or only one end portion 24 of the sens-ing band 20 may comprise flexible composite material or a stretch textile material. Asmay be seen in Fig. 2, the central or middle portion 23 of the sensing band 20, arrangedto contact the bare skin on the underside of the dock 4, is wider than the two end por-tions 24. The increased sensing area provides a higher number of sensors, thereby im- proving the sensing accuracy.

[0038] To ensure optimal fit and mounting of the sensing band 20, a visual indicationof the applied tension may be provided. The visual indication may be in the form of a'button hole' in the textile material which is pulled apart when the band is pulled tootightly around the tail 3. Another example is an indicator in the form of a different col-oured textile layer provided underneath the surface layer of the textile sensing band 20.When the sensing band 20 is stretched more than a predetermined degree, the different coloured layer will become visible through the surface layer.

[0039] For attachment of the sensing band 20 to the housing 10, there is provided atleast one connector 26. The connector 26 is fixedly attached to one (first) end of thesensing band 20 in electrical connection with the means for sensing heart rate and/ortemperature. The connector 26 may be a moulded plastic part containing the necessaryelectronic components, e.g. separate or common connections with wires to the heartrate sensor and the temperature sensor provided in the sensing band 20. Furthermore,the connector 26 comprises one or more outgoing electrical contacts 28 adapted to con-nect to terminals 12 of electrical components in the housing 10 as shown in Fig. 1. Theconnector 26 also comprises means for mechanical attachment to the housing 10, e.g.by means of a snap-fit or form-fit connection. As seen in Fig. 2, the connector 26 is inthe shape of a T with prongs extending perpendicular to the longitudinal extension ofthe sensing band 20. These prongs may be hooked into recesses or grooves 11 formedon the housing 10. The shape of the recesses 11 corresponds to the shape of the con-nector 26 as shown in Figs. 1, 3.

[0040] ln order to provide optimal sensing accuracy and also simplify mounting, thesensing band 20 may be tailored to an individual horse 2. To this end, one or both endportions 24 of the sensing band 20 may be adjustable in length. ln order to fasten thesecond end portion 24 of the sensing band 20 to the housing 10, a fastener 27 similar tothe connector 26, but without the electronic components, is adjustably attached to thesecond end 24. During initial fitting of the sensing band 20 to the horse, the fastener 27may be moved along the length of the second end portion 24 to a desired position be-fore being clipped or clasped in place. The surplus length of the second end portion 24of the sensing band 20 protruding through and beyond the fastener 27 may then be cutoff. The second end portion 24 may be provided with perforated, scored or frangible cut-away sections (not shown) at regular intervals along its length to facilitate removal of surplus band material.

[0041] Among the electronic components in the connector 26, an ID chip (not shown)may be provided for identification of the sensing band 20 and the individual horse towhich it has been fitted. The sensing band 20 may then be defined as ”“belonging”” tothat individual horse. This also makes it possible to correlate monitored vital signs andhealth status data with other information specific to that horse, such as weight, age, breed, sex, training schedule, competition results, injuries, healthcare treatments, drugs or pharmaceuticals administered, equipment used (saddle, bridle, horseshoes) etc., re- trieved from one or more external databases.

[0042] As mentioned above, the housing 10 of the sensor device 1 comprises elec-tronic components for controlling, supplying electrical power to and storing sensed datafrom the included sensors. Whereas the heart rate and temperature sensors 21, 22 pro-vided in the sensing band 20 external to the housing 10, e.g. in the form of electrodes25 or conductive textiles, are required to remain in direct contact with the bare skin onthe underside of the dock 4, movement sensors for monitoring movement of the tail 3(and the body as a whole) may be provided internally in the housing 10 of the sensordevice 1. Examples of such movement sensors include accelerometers and/or gyro-scopes 13. From the sensing data recorded with the movement sensors, informationabout the horse's physical condition or state of mind may be determined, e.g. from gaitand tail carriage of the horse which can be used to detect potential injuries or discom-fort. Other examples of sensors include, but are not limited to, temperature sensors 14for sensing ambient temperature, light sensors 15 for sensing ambient light, Hall effectsensors 16 for sensing magnetic fields.

[0043] Fig. 6 shows a schematic illustration of the electronic components in the hous-ing 10 provided on an embedded system circuit board. A microprocessor 19 is con-nected to and controls the internal sensors in the housing 10 as well as the externalsensors in the sensing band 20 via an interface (temperature sensor 22) or an analoguefront-end (electrodes 25 of heart rate sensor 21). Sensing data received from the sen-sors are processed by the microprocessor 19 and stored in a memory 17 connected tothe microprocessor 19. Also provided on the circuit board is a wireless radio transceiver18 configured to communicate with an external receiver, for example a gateway in-stalled in a fixed location such as a stable or a paddock to which the horse returns atregular intervals. The sensed data may then be transmitted from the sensor device 1 tothe external receiver and further to other networks, systems, servers and devices com- municating with the external receiver.

[0044] The sensor device 1 also comprises a power management module 40 adaptedto supply electrical power to the components of the circuit board and the external sen-sors. The power management module 40 may receive electrical power from a battery 41 and/or an external energy source through a wireless power receiver 42 connected to a 11 magnetic coil 43. The embedded system circuit board may also comprise an indicatore.g. in form of an RGB-LED 44 to provide an indication that the sensor device 1 ismounted and functioning properly as well as an indication of power supply level. Fur-thermore, the sensor device 1 may comprise a global navigation satellite system(GNSS) receiver (not shown) for determining and recording the position of the sensor device 1.

Claims (18)

1. A sensing band (20) for a tail-mounted sensor device (1) for monitoring vitalsigns of an animal (2) having a tail (3), wherein the sensing band comprises means forsensing heart rate (21) and/or temperature (22) of the animal and is adapted to bemounted around the tail and be releasably connected to the sensor device.

2. The sensing band according to claim 1, wherein the sensing band is adaptedto be mounted around the underside of the dock (4) of the tail.

3. The sensing band according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein thesensing band comprises a textile material and the means for sensing heart rate and/or temperature is woven or integrated into the textile material.

4. The sensing band according to claim 3, wherein the sensing band comprisesmeans for indicating a degree of tension of the sensing band when mounted on the tail.

5. The sensing band according to claim 4, wherein the indicating means com-prises a layer of different coloured textile material underneath a surface layer which be-comes visible through the surface layer when a predetermined tension is applied to thesensing band.

6. The sensing band according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein themeans for sensing heart rate and/or temperature comprises one or more electrodes(25).

7. The sensing band according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein thesensing band comprises a connector (26) adapted to be attached to the sensor devicein order to provide an electrical connection between the sensing band and the sensor device.

8. The sensing band according to claim 7, wherein the connector comprises anID chip for identification of the sensing band. 13

9. The sensing band according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein thesensing band comprises an adjustable fastener (27) adapted to be attached to the sen- sor device.

10. A tail-mounted sensor device (1) for monitoring vital signs of an animal, com-prising a housing (10) and a fastening device (30) attached to the housing and adaptedto fasten the sensor device on at least part of the tail, wherein the sensor device isadapted to receive a sensing band (20) according to any preceding claim for releasableattachment thereto to provide an electrical connection between the sensing band andthe sensor device, wherein the sensing band is separate from the fastening device.

11. The sensor device according to claim 10, wherein the fastening device com-prises a clip (31) adapted to be fastened to hair (5) of the tail.

12. The sensor device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the housing comprisesat least one recess (11) adapted to receive the sensing band therein.

13. The sensor device according to claim 12, wherein the recess has a shape cor- responding to the shape of the connector and/or the fastener of the sensing band.

14. The sensor device according to any one of claims 10 - 13, wherein the hous- ing comprises means (13) for sensing movement of the tail.

15. The sensor device according to claim 14, wherein the means for sensingmovement of the tail comprises at least one accelerometer and/or gyroscope (13).

16. The sensor device according to any one of claims 10 - 15, wherein the hous-ing comprises means for sensing ambient temperature (14), ambient light (15) and/ormagnetic fields (16).

17. The sensor device according to any one of claims 10 - 16, wherein the hous-ing comprises a microprocessor (19), memory means (17) for storing sensed data and means (18) for wireless transmission of the sensed data to an external receiver.

18. A kit comprising at least one sensing band according to any one of claims 1-9and at least one sensor device according to any one of claims 10-17.