WO2013186235A1 - Procédé permettant d'avertir un individu de la mise bas imminente d'un animal - Google Patents
Procédé permettant d'avertir un individu de la mise bas imminente d'un animal Download PDFInfo
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- WO2013186235A1 WO2013186235A1 PCT/EP2013/062069 EP2013062069W WO2013186235A1 WO 2013186235 A1 WO2013186235 A1 WO 2013186235A1 EP 2013062069 W EP2013062069 W EP 2013062069W WO 2013186235 A1 WO2013186235 A1 WO 2013186235A1
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- animal
- tail
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61D—VETERINARY INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTS, TOOLS, OR METHODS
- A61D17/00—Devices for indicating trouble during labour of animals ; Methods or instruments for detecting pregnancy-related states of animals
- A61D17/008—Devices for indicating trouble during labour of animals ; Methods or instruments for detecting pregnancy-related states of animals for detecting birth of animals, e.g. parturition alarm
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
- A61B2503/00—Evaluating a particular growth phase or type of persons or animals
- A61B2503/40—Animals
Definitions
- This invention relates to a method of alerting a responsible individual to the impending birth of an animal. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of alerting a responsible individual to the impending birth of a calf to a cow or heifer.
- a cow or a heifer When a cow or a heifer is in calf, it is important to monitor them closely and be present when they go into labour. If present, the farmer or veterinarian can assist in the delivery of the calf particularly if complications should arise, thereby ensuring a lower mortality rate of new-born calves.
- Various birthing sensors and methods have been devised for predicting when an animal is about to go into labour and for providing the farmer or veterinarian with a warning that the labour is imminent.
- One type of system and method comprises a temperature probe that may be periodically inserted into an orifice of the animal and from their temperature, a prediction can be made as to when the animal is most likely to go into labour.
- a disadvantage of this type of system and method is that it requires frequent monitoring of the animal by the farmer or veterinarian which is time consuming and inconvenient.
- Another type of system and method comprises inserting a probe quasi-permanently in an orifice of the animal and receiving measurements from the probe over a radio network.
- a disadvantage of this type of system is that it may require intervention from a veterinarian in order to insert the probe.
- Another disadvantage of this type of system is that it is unhygienic to use the probe on more than one animal and therefore if there are many animals to monitor, the cost of monitoring the herd can be significant.
- a further type of system and method comprises strapping a movement sensor around the body of the animal and monitoring their movements.
- this system and method overcomes some of the disadvantages of the other quasi-permanent systems in that it allows the sensor to be re-used and does not require the intervention of a skilled veterinarian to put in place, it is prone to damage and to becoming dislodged by the animal wearing the sensor.
- this system and method suffers from a common problem shared by all of the above-identified systems in that they are not very accurate.
- the known systems will only provide the responsible individual with a rough approximation of when the birth will occur, for example, that the birth may occur at any stage over the next 6 hours or so. This means that the farmer or veterinarian may be called out in the middle of the night for a birth that is still several hours away. This is highly undesirable.
- a method of alerting a responsible individual to the impending birth of an animal comprising the initial step of: releasably mounting a birthing sensor onto the tail of a pregnant animal adjacent the body of the pregnant animal, the birthing sensor comprising a sealed casing having a power supply, a wireless communication module, a memory, a controller and a movement sensor therein; and thereafter carrying out the steps of: monitoring the movements including the tail movements of the pregnant animal with the tail-mounted movement sensor; processing the movements including the tail movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor; comparing the processed movements including the tail movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor with at least one impending birth indicator; and on matching the processed movements including the tail movements of the pregnant animal with the impending birth indicator, alerting a responsible individual of the impending birth.
- the step of monitoring the movements of the pregnant animal with the tail mounted sensor comprises periodically calculating the pitch angle of the animal's tail with respect to level ground.
- the pitch angle is a good indicator of whether or not a cow, for example, is going into labour or indeed is in labour. The cow will typically raise and lower its tail a number of times and will keep it in a raised position for an extended period of time prior to giving birth to a calf.
- the step of monitoring the movements of the pregnant animal with the tail mounted sensor comprises periodically calculating the roll angle of the animal's tail with respect to level ground.
- the roll angle will give a good indication of whether or not the animal is standing or lying down or whether the animal has transitioned from standing to sitting or vice versa. If it is detected that the animal has lay down and stood up a number of times in a given period, this will facilitate prediction of an impending birth.
- the step of processing the movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor comprises averaging the monitored movements over a first time period.
- averaging By averaging the movements over a first time period, a number of samples may be obtained and a value will be provided that is representative of the animal movement pattern over the period of time rather than at a specific moment in time.
- the averaging will also assist in removing many standard actions of the animal and movements experienced by their tail. For example, averaging will assist in minimizing the effects of tail swishing from side to side as the movements are effectively equal and opposite and will cancel each other out. What is left is the orientation of the animal rather than the individual movements.
- the first time period is at least 15 seconds in duration.
- the first time period may be up to 60 seconds in duration. It is envisaged that a sample will be taken four times every second.
- the step of processing the movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor comprises filtering the averaged monitored movements to remove any low frequency components. By filtering the averaged monitored movements, this will also help to reduce any outlying activity that it is not desired to capture and consider in the results.
- the step of monitoring the movements of the pregnant animal with the tail mounted sensor comprises capturing acceleration samples with an accelerometer.
- the accelerometer is a reliable, very inexpensive device to use.
- Other means, such as, but not limited to, an angular rate sensor or a capacitive sensor may be used in its place or indeed to supplement the accelerometer.
- the step of processing the movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor comprises: filtering the averaged acceleration samples to remove any low frequency components; calculating the modulus of the filtered average acceleration samples; and summing the moduli over a second time period greater than the first time period; and in which the step of comparing the movements of the pregnant animal monitored with the tail mounted sensor with at least one impending birth movement pattern comprises: comparing the summed moduli with a threshold value representative of a birth indicator; and on the summed moduli exceeding the threshold value, determining that there is a match of the birth movement indicator.
- the movement sensor is a three axis accelerometer and the tail movement of the pregnant animal is monitored in at least two axes.
- the movement sensor is a three axis accelerometer and the tail movement of the pregnant animal is monitored in at least two axes.
- the birthing sensor will also be able to detect movements of the rear of the animal upwards or downwards as the animal arches its back which can assist in the determination of whether or not the animal is going into labour and finally, the sensor will be able to differentiate between movements of the tail on its own and movements of the cow generally.
- three separate single axis accelerometers could be used arranged perpendicular with respect to each other.
- the step of comparing the monitored pregnant animal movements with at least one impending birth indicator comprises the birthing sensor comparing the monitored pregnant animal movements with an impending birth indicator stored in memory.
- the system can effectively operate as a stand-alone system and the birthing sensor can monitor and detect an impending birth.
- the birthing sensor detects an impending birth, it will send an alert, preferably via SMS or other communication over the GSM network to the responsible individual.
- the step of alerting a responsible individual of the impending birth comprises the birthing sensor using the wireless communication module to transmit an alert to the responsible individual.
- a birthing sensor for mounting on the tail of a pregnant animal comprising a sealed casing configured to be mounted on the tail of the animal and a securing strap to hold the casing in position on the tail of the animal, the sealed casing having a power supply, a memory, a wireless communication module, a movement sensor for detecting movement in at least one axes, and a controller therein, the controller being operable to receive measurements taken by the movement sensor, generate a birthing report and pass the birthing report onwards to the wireless communication module for transmission of the birthing report to a remote location.
- This is seen as a very simple compact birthing sensor to use that will be simple to install and effective in operation.
- a birthing sensor will provide the responsible person with a warning that the impending birth will be within a much tighter time frame than the other known devices and methods.
- the wireless communication module is a GSM modem capable of transmitting the birthing report to a mobile phone of the farmer or veterinarian over the GSM network.
- the controller and memory are provided by a microcontroller.
- Figure 1 is a perspective view taken from one end of a birthing sensor for use in the method according to the invention
- Figure 2 is a perspective view taken from the opposite end of the birthing sensor
- Figure 3 is a perspective view taken from below of the birthing sensor
- Figure 4 is another perspective view taken from below of the birthing sensor;
- Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the birthing sensor;
- Figure 6 is an end view of the birthing sensor;
- Figure 7 is a side view of the birthing sensor
- Figure 8 is an end view of the birthing sensor showing the opposite end to that shown in Figure 6;
- Figure 9 is a top plan view of the birthing sensor
- Figure 10 is a side cross-sectional view along the lines A-A of Figure 9;
- Figure 1 1 is an end cross-sectional view along the lines B-B of Figure 9;
- Figure 12 is an exploded view of the birthing sensor;
- Figures 13(a) to 13(c) are diagrammatic representations of a cow having the birthing sensor mounted on it's tail;
- Figure 14 is an enlarged view of the circled portion C in Figure 13(c);
- Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view along the lines D-D of Figure 14;
- Figure 16 is a diagrammatic representation of a cow with the birthing sensor on its tail similar to Figure 13(c) but with the tail of the cow in a raised position;
- Figure 17 is a diagrammatic representation of the system in which the method and the birthing sensor according to the invention operate.
- a birthing sensor for use in the method according to the invention comprising a sealed casing 3 having a top 5, a bottom 7, a pair of longitudinal sides 9, 1 and a pair of lateral ends 13, 15.
- a pair of securing strap engagement means are provided, one on each longitudinal side of the casing.
- the securing strap engagement means each comprise a channel-shaped flange 17, 19 that extends outwardly from the longitudinal side of the casing and is configured to releasably engage a resiliently deformable continuous securing strap (not shown).
- the channel-shaped flanges 17, 19 extend substantially the entire length of the casing 3.
- the bottom 7 of the casing is provided with a channel 21 indent that extends along the length of the casing.
- a padding layer and a non-slip layer, neither of which are illustrated, are preferably mounted in the channel 21.
- a power supply in this case provided by way of three batteries 23, 25, 27 and a circuit board 29 on which there is mounted sensing components including a microcontroller 41 , a movement sensor 43 provided by way of a three axis accelerometer, and a wireless communications module 45.
- the movement sensor 43 detects the movements of the animal and in particular the movements of the animal's tail and determines whether, from those movements, that the animal is in labour. If it is determined that the animal is in labour, an alert is transmitted to the farmer or a veterinarian.
- FIGs 13(a) to 17 inclusive there are shown various representations of the birthing sensor being mounted on the tail 30, of a cow, 32.
- the birthing sensor casing 3 is brought into engagement with the tail of the cow, as illustrated in Figure 13(a), until it is in the desired location on the cow's tail, as illustrated in Figure 13(b).
- the birthing sensor casing 3 is held in that desired position by the operator (not shown) with one hand while their other hand is used to affix a resiliently deformable continuous securing strap 31 to one of the channel-shaped flanges 17, 19 that extend outwardly from the longitudinal side of the casing 3.
- the securing strap 31 When the securing strap 31 has been connected to the channel shaped flange 17, 19, the securing strap 31 is then led around the tail of the animal and secured in place on the other channel shaped flange 17, 19, thereby trapping the tail of the animal intermediate the continuous securing strap and the bottom of the casing, as shown in Figures 13(c), and 14 to 17 inclusive.
- the securing strap 31 is preferably a continuous ring of rubber or similar rugged, resiliently deformable material.
- the securing strap 31 will hold the casing in position on the cow's tail without causing noticeable discomfort to the cow.
- the casing is a sealed casing and a rubber seal 33 is provided (as shown in Figure 12) to limit the possibility of there being ingress of dirt or moisture into the casing 3.
- the birthing sensor will be mounted on the tail 30 of the cow 32 in the manner described and as illustrated by Figures 13(a) to 13(c) inclusive, and the movements of the cow and in particular the movements of the cow's tail will be monitored by the birthing sensor 1.
- the three axes accelerometer 43 will detect the position of the cow's tail, preferably a plurality of times every second (for example, 4 times a second) and compare the movements and the position of the cows tail with impending birth movement indicators stored in microcontroller 41 memory. If the monitored movement patterns match one of the impending birth movement indicators stored in memory, an alert is sent to the responsible person.
- the impending birth movement patterns will effectively comprise, for example, a set of rules which are used to determine whether or not the cow is in labour.
- the rules may be whether the tail has been in a raised configuration (as illustrated in Figures 16 and 17) for a predetermined period of time, whether the tail has been raised a predetermined number of times in a given time period, whether or not the cow has laid down a predetermined number of times in a time period, whether the cow has been lying down for longer or shorter than a predetermined time period, whether the cow's back is arched or a combination of two or more of the above conditions.
- the number of times that the cow raises their tail or lies down, and the time durations and predetermined time periods are preferably programmable into the microcontroller as these may vary from breed to breed as well as from species to species, and it may be preferable to program these appropriately to provide the optimum amount of time for the farmer or veterinarian to get to the animal in question.
- the tail angle and time tail raised product when measured with an accelerometer is not a highly reliable indicator of calving in some species of animal.
- the general large scale activity of the cow is much greater in the couple of hours leading up to calving.
- the activity patterns appear as though the cow is restless, repeatedly standing up and lying down, for example. In the days prior to labour there seems to be much smaller levels of gross movement.
- the impending birth pattern will be a threshold energy value for a given time period, that if exceeded, will indicate that the animal is in labour. This will be described in more detail below.
- FIG. 13(c) and 16 there are shown a plurality of axes marked x-x, y-y, and z-z respectively.
- the sensor is placed with the accelerometer ' s main axis aligned with the x-x axis so that the accelerometer will measure raising and lowering of the cow ' s tail (as shown raised in Figure 16 and lowered in Figure 13(c)). This will be referred to as the pitch movement of the tail.
- the y-y axis is the laterally arranged axis and will detect movements of the tail in this lateral axis.
- the y-y axis will detect when the tail is on its side for a prolonged period of time as would often be the case if the animal was lying down or whether the tail is pointing downwards rather than to a side as would be the case if the animal were standing up.
- This y-y axis measurement will be referred to as the roll angle.
- the z-z axis is perpendicular to both the x-x and y-y axes and in Figure 13(c) is shown aligned longitudinally with respect to the animal and this is often referred to as the yaw angle.
- the x-x, y-y and z-z axes are all referenced to the casing and the body on which the device is mounted rather than being referenced to earth.
- the yaw angle cannot be calculated from accelerometer measurements.
- the z-z axis of the accelerometer assures that the pitch and roll angles can be measured irrespective of the orientation of the sensor. In other instances, it may only be necessary to calculate either the pitch or the roll angle however the following example details a situation where both angles are captured.
- Various equations can be used to determine the tilt angles of the accelerometers.
- the senor is used to detect the general large scale activity of the cow even though the sensor is placed on the tail of the animal.
- Various techniques are used, as will be described in greater detail below, to cancel out interference and irrelevant movements of the cow.
- the acceleration is detected in the relevant axes four times every second. According to the invention, it is important to measure the gross (slow) movement of the cow, or in particular, her change in position/posture rather than the fast movements, like swinging of the tail from side to side, raising of the tail for a bowel movement and the like. Therefore, according to the present invention, the acceleration data over a relatively long period is averaged to provide samples to a detection algorithm (which is used for matching of the sensed data with an impending birth indicator).
- the first step in the process is to average the acceleration samples obtained from the accelerometer over a time span of the range 15 to 60 seconds.
- the acceleration samples are averaged over a period of 15 seconds.
- the accelerations samples are averaged by summing all the acceleration samples together. This has the effect of averaging out any actual sudden movements of the cow, and leaves the orientation of the cow intact.
- the gravity component, or the acceleration due to gravity in the x-x, y-y and z-z axes which is an indication of the orientation of the cow's tail, is obtained.
- vibrations and other movements are filtered at this stage, whereas the pitch and roll of the sensor remain the principle component of the averaged signal.
- the signal has been averaged, it is then necessary to calculate the energy in the change in the cow's position. In particular, it is necessary to calculate the energy in the change in the cow's tail's pitch and roll. Once that has been calculated, the energy value can be compared to a threshold energy value and if the energy value of the tail is higher than the threshold energy value, then it can be assumed that the cow is in labour. The precise steps will be described in further detail below:
- the acceleration samples are added together and averaged over a first time period, for example 15 seconds.
- This time period will be selected to provide the appropriate degree of resolution and the first time period may be as low as a few seconds, for example 3 seconds. Indeed, the first time period may be up to 15 seconds or indeed could be greater than 15 seconds. This may depend in part on the animal being monitored. For the purposes of this example, a first time period of 15 seconds has been used for illustrative purposes only.
- the pitch and roll angles are then calculated for each averaged acceleration sample. The pitch angle is calculated according to the formula:
- Roll angle Tan "1 (y / [ ⁇ x 2 +z 2 ⁇ 1 ⁇ 2 ] ⁇
- the above equations are used when three axes are monitored. If only two axes are monitored, the following equations could be used.
- Theta asin(Ay) Where theta is the angle that the accelerometer makes with level ground and Ay is the measured acceleration by the accelerometer in the y-y axis direction in units of g.
- a high pass filter is applied to the pitch and roll angles. This is achieved by, for example, passing the pitch and roll angles through a differentiator in order to obtain the difference of the current pitch and roll angles with the previous pitch and roll angles.
- the magnitude of the resulting pitch and roll signals are obtained by obtaining the modulus of the resulting signals and these signals are summed.
- the moduli of the resultant signals are summed, or more specifically, integrated over a detection window length which may be set at the outset of the device's operation.
- the detection window length may be 15 minutes in duration. Therefore, for each 15 second time increment, the integration of the summed moduli of signals is compared to the threshold.
- the integration of the pitch moduli of signals may be compared to a pitch threshold and/or the integration of the roll moduli of signals may be compared to a roll threshold and either or both of these may be used to determine whether or not the animal is in labour.
- both the integration of the pitch moduli of signals and the integration of the roll moduli of signals may be combined together and compared against a combined threshold value.
- HPF high pass filter
- the two resulting outputs of the algorithm are the 1 ) Pitch energy value (a figure of the variation in pitch angle of the sensor over a time window of about 10 to 15 minutes) and the 2) Roll energy value (a figure of the variation in roll angle of the sensor over a time window of about 10 to 15 minutes).
- the two outputs namely the pitch energy value and the roll energy value are output as a pair of positive numerical values for each time window and a determination is made based on the pair of numerical values whether or not the animal is in labour.
- the numerical values range from zero to up to approximately 30 and once it is found that one or both of the pitch energy value and or the roll energy value has a value of greater than or equal to 20 for three or more consecutive time windows, it is determined that the animal is in labour. This is simply illustrative of the current operation of one implementation of the invention and other criteria may be used instead depending on the animal and the analysis of monitored data in order to make the method more accurate.
- the method according to the invention comprises the steps of monitoring the movements of the tail and determining the following: (1 ) whether or not the tail is being held higher than normal and (2) whether or not the tail is being moved upwards and downwards more frequently.
- (1 ) whether or not the tail is being held higher than normal and (2) whether or not the tail is being moved upwards and downwards more frequently.
- the sensor data may be compared with certain threshold values for that type of animal and if the thresholds are exceeded, an alarm will be sent to the responsible individual that the animal is about to go into labour. If the activity of the animal is plotted on a graph, it is possible to recognize, visually, the increase in the tail angle and indeed the increase in the activity of the tail that has been captured by the sensors mounted on the cow ' s tail. Similarly, this recognition can be carried out numerically by comparing the values captured by the sensor over time to the threshold values in memory or that are stored remote from the sensor.
- a magnetometer and or a capacitive sensor can be used to good effect to determine the orientation of the animal and also to determine the orientation of the animal's tail at a particular point in time.
- the magnetometer can be used to monitor the general movement of the animal and detect the direction that the sensor and by extension that the animal is facing at a given point in time. This information can be combined with other sensor data to check the activity levels of the animal over a given time period.
- the capacitive sensor is seen as a very useful device to use with the birthing sensor of the present invention.
- a capacitive sensor By using a capacitive sensor, it is possible to closely and accurately measure the angle that the tail of the animal, and more specifically a cow, forms with respect to the rump of the cow.
- a capacitive sensor comprising a piece of conductive foil/plastic at the rear of the tail (i.e. on the outside back portion of the sensor tail strap) and another piece of conductive foil/plastic on the underside of the tail strap.
- the microcontroller can measure the relative capacitance, and be programmed to take action based on the pattern of change in the capacitance (the capacitance would indicate whether or not the tail is beside the rump or spaced apart from the rump).
- the sensor on the tail on the underside of the tail strap is the reference electrode (low impedance connection to the cow's body) and the electrode at the rear of the tail on the outside of the clip is the sense electrode.
- the sense electrode approaches the rump of the cow the measured impedance (capacitance) reduces.
- oversampling can be used to improve resolution or alternatively a dedicated chip can be used if desired.
- a sensor fusion algorithm could be used to enhance detection reliability.
- the birthing sensor has an algorithm that compares the measured tilt angle of the cow's tail 30 with respect to level ground with a configurable reference tilt angle. If the birthing sensor detects that the tilt of the cows tail is above the reference tilt angle for a configurable number of seconds, (in other words, it matches an impending birth movement pattern stored in memory), the birthing sensor will determine that the cow is in labour.
- An SMS message is sent from the wireless communication module (not shown) in the birthing sensor 1 to an antenna 51 of a GSM network.
- the antenna will relay the SMS message to the mobile telephone 61 of the farmer or the veterinarian alerting them to the fact that the cow is in labour and that delivery is imminent.
- the farmer or veterinarian can then make their way to the animal in question to assist in the delivery of the calf.
- the remaining parts of the GSM network including other antennae, the base station controllers, the mobile switching centre and the like have been omitted from the drawing. However, it will be understood that these parts would also be present in the GSM network however their inclusion in this description is not essential to the understanding of the present invention.
- a non-slip coating that preferably is non-abrasive to the animal can also be placed directly onto the bottom of the casing or onto the padding layer, if one is provided, in a location on the padding layer where it comes into contact with the animal's tail.
- the power supply is shown in the diagrams as a number of cylindrically-shaped batteries however this is for illustrative purposes only as will be understood from the general reference to a power supply in the specification and claims in particular. It will be immediately apparent that alternative battery types and shapes and indeed various types of rechargeable batteries in particular could be used instead.
- the device is in a sealed casing and is intended to be reusable and therefore it will be preferable to allow recharging of the batteries to allow maximum usable life of the birthing sensor. If possible, a photovoltaic array may be incorporated into the device to provide recharging current to the power supply.
- a controller and memory could be provided in its stead.
- the controller or microcontroller if appropriate may be pre-programmed or programmable.
- the communications between the birthing sensor and the farmer/veterinarian are preferably via SMS over a GSM network however other configurations for data communications are possible and readily envisaged.
- the birthing sensor may support two way communications so that the birthing sensor can also receive requests for information or commands via SMS or other means through the wireless communication network.
- a command may be transmitted to the device, such as a number to send an alert notification to in the event of an animal going into labour, the parameter(s) of any of the impending birth movement patterns stored in memory, or for the device to wake up or go into hibernation.
- the processing is carried out on the microcontroller on the birthing sensor however if desired, the birthing sensor can simply transmit the sensed data onwards to a remote third party location where the data can be analysed and thereafter a notification can be sent by the third party to the farmer or the veterinarian. In large herds, it may be desirable to provide a unique identifier as part of the alert message that will indicate which cow or heifer is going into labour.
- the present invention has been described in terms of cows and heifers, it is envisaged that the present invention could also be used with other species of animal.
- the device may be provided with a GPS component that will allow the location of the device, and by extension the location of an animal wearing the device, to be provided to the responsible person. This will allow the responsible person to locate the animal with ease.
- the device may be provided with one or more temperature sensors.
- the device may be provided with a temperature sensor suitably positioned to monitor the ambient temperature of the air in the vicinity of the animal.
- a temperature sensor in addition to or instead of the ambient temperature sensor, there may be provided a temperature sensor in a position adjacent to the animal's tail to monitor the temperature of the animal. If the temperature of the animal is monitored, this may provide useful information regarding the state of wellbeing of the animal.
- birthing sensor device is not limited to the construction of birthing sensor hereinbefore described.
- a strap with a pouch for the birthing sensor could be used instead, the birthing sensor being mounted in the pouch and the strap being wound around the tail of the animal.
- the strap may be provided with Velcro ® or other similar hook and eye fastener arrangement or indeed one or more hooks and one or more loops could be provided on the strap to secure the strap with the birthing sensor in position on the animal's tail.
- a buckle or the like could be provided to hold the strap and the birthing sensor in position on the tail of the animal.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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- Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
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- Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)
Abstract
L'invention concerne un procédé pour avertir un individu responsable qu'un animal va mettre bas de manière imminente, et un capteur de mise bas (1) à utiliser pour ledit procédé. Jusqu'à présent, de nombreux procédés connus pour détecter la mise bas imminente d'un animal et avertir une personne responsable de cette mise bas imminente, étaient laborieux et peu précis. Souvent, une alerte permet à un éleveur ou à un vétérinaire d'être prévenus plusieurs heures avant la mise bas. Le procédé selon l'invention consiste à monter une nouvelle structure de capteur de mise bas (1) sur la queue de l'animal et à surveiller les mouvements (30) du corps et de la queue de l'animal. Ces mouvements sont comparés, par un microcontrôleur (41), à un indicateur de mouvements de mise bas imminente, et si les mouvements correspondent à ceux de l'indicateur, l'animal est considéré comme étant sur le point de mettre bas, et une alerte est transmise par le capteur de mise bas à la personne responsable. L'intervalle de temps de la mise bas est plus court et plus précis qu'auparavant. En outre, le capteur (1) est plus facile à mettre en place, et le procédé est plus facile à mettre en oeuvre.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
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IES2012/0306 | 2012-06-11 | ||
IES20120306 | 2012-06-11 | ||
GB1211717.2 | 2012-07-02 | ||
GB1211717.2A GB2503666B (en) | 2012-07-02 | 2012-07-02 | A method of alerting an individual to the impending birth of an animal |
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WO2013186235A1 true WO2013186235A1 (fr) | 2013-12-19 |
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PCT/EP2013/062069 WO2013186235A1 (fr) | 2012-06-11 | 2013-06-11 | Procédé permettant d'avertir un individu de la mise bas imminente d'un animal |
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CN106137449A (zh) * | 2015-04-16 | 2016-11-23 | 成都金丰元科技有限公司 | 动物自动喂药系统及其控制方法 |
FR3040871A1 (fr) * | 2016-07-25 | 2017-03-17 | Evolution Nt | Procede de detection et de signalement de la phase preparatoire de mise-bas d'un animal, dispositif, support d'enregistrement et produit programme d'ordinateur correspondants |
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WO2017211473A1 (fr) * | 2016-06-08 | 2017-12-14 | Moocall Limited | Procédé et appareil pour fournir une indication de l'imminence de la parturition chez le bétail |
EP3348230A1 (fr) | 2017-01-12 | 2018-07-18 | Lacme Holding | Dispositif et procédé de surveillance des paramètres physiologiques d'un animal |
US20200069406A1 (en) * | 2017-05-18 | 2020-03-05 | Nedap N.V. | Method and system for determining calving information |
GB2581205A (en) * | 2019-02-08 | 2020-08-12 | Agtag Ltd | Bovine motion sensor tag |
CN113919453A (zh) * | 2021-09-13 | 2022-01-11 | 徐州北之琪农业科技有限公司 | 用于记录生物特征的区块链集成系统 |
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Cited By (21)
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CN106137449A (zh) * | 2015-04-16 | 2016-11-23 | 成都金丰元科技有限公司 | 动物自动喂药系统及其控制方法 |
GB2548190B (en) * | 2015-12-23 | 2021-09-29 | Institute Of Tech Sligo | A lambing monitoring system |
GB2548190A (en) * | 2015-12-23 | 2017-09-13 | Inst Of Tech Sligo | A lambing monitoring system |
WO2017190190A1 (fr) * | 2016-05-05 | 2017-11-09 | Animal Apps Pty Ltd | Procédé et appareil pour surveiller des animaux |
GB2565923A (en) * | 2016-05-05 | 2019-02-27 | Animal Apps Pty Ltd | Method and apparatus for monitoring animals |
GB2551325A (en) * | 2016-06-08 | 2017-12-20 | Moocall Ltd | Method and apparatus for providing indication of the oncoming parturition in livestock |
EP3269326A1 (fr) * | 2016-06-08 | 2018-01-17 | Moocall Limited | Procédé et appareil destinés à fournir une indication de la mise bas à venir chez les animaux d'élevage |
US11602423B2 (en) | 2016-06-08 | 2023-03-14 | Moocall Limited | Method and apparatus for providing indication of the oncoming parturition in livestock |
AU2017278816B2 (en) * | 2016-06-08 | 2021-11-25 | Moocall Limited | Method and apparatus for providing indication of the oncoming parturition in livestock |
WO2017211473A1 (fr) * | 2016-06-08 | 2017-12-14 | Moocall Limited | Procédé et appareil pour fournir une indication de l'imminence de la parturition chez le bétail |
CN109475398A (zh) * | 2016-06-08 | 2019-03-15 | 牛哞有限公司 | 用于提供对牲畜的即将到来的分娩的指示的方法和装置 |
CN109475398B (zh) * | 2016-06-08 | 2021-11-16 | 牛哞有限公司 | 用于提供对牲畜的即将到来的分娩的指示的方法和装置 |
GB2551325B (en) * | 2016-06-08 | 2021-10-13 | Moocall Ltd | Method and apparatus for providing indication of the oncoming parturition in livestock |
FR3040871A1 (fr) * | 2016-07-25 | 2017-03-17 | Evolution Nt | Procede de detection et de signalement de la phase preparatoire de mise-bas d'un animal, dispositif, support d'enregistrement et produit programme d'ordinateur correspondants |
WO2018020090A1 (fr) | 2016-07-25 | 2018-02-01 | Union Evolution | Procédé de détection et de signalement de la phase préparatoire de mise-bas d'un animal, dispositif, support d'enregistrement et produit programme d'ordinateur correspondants |
EP3348230A1 (fr) | 2017-01-12 | 2018-07-18 | Lacme Holding | Dispositif et procédé de surveillance des paramètres physiologiques d'un animal |
US20200069406A1 (en) * | 2017-05-18 | 2020-03-05 | Nedap N.V. | Method and system for determining calving information |
WO2020161360A3 (fr) * | 2019-02-08 | 2020-10-01 | Agtag Limited | Étiquette de capteur de mouvements de bovins |
WO2020161360A2 (fr) | 2019-02-08 | 2020-08-13 | Agtag Limited | Étiquette de capteur de mouvements de bovins |
GB2581205A (en) * | 2019-02-08 | 2020-08-12 | Agtag Ltd | Bovine motion sensor tag |
CN113919453A (zh) * | 2021-09-13 | 2022-01-11 | 徐州北之琪农业科技有限公司 | 用于记录生物特征的区块链集成系统 |
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