A study on the applicability of implantable microchip transponders for body temperature measurements in pigs

Louise Lohse,Claes Enøe,Jens Nielsen,Åse Uttenthal

doi:10.1186/1751-0147-52-29

Louise Lohse, Claes Enøe + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-52-29

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Abstract

BackgroundThe applicability of an electronic monitoring system using microchip transponders for measurement of body temperatures was tested in 6-week-old conventional Danish weaners infected with classical swine fever virus (CSFV). Subcutaneous tissue temperatures obtained by the implantable transponders were compared with rectal temperatures, recorded by a conventional digital thermometer.MethodsIn a preliminary study, transponders were inserted subcutaneously at 6 different positions of the body of 5 pigs. The transponders positioned by the ear base provided the best correlation to rectal temperature. To test the stability of the monitoring system in a larger group of pigs, transponders were therefore inserted by the left ear base in a subsequent infection experiment with 30 pigs.ResultsGenerally, the microchip transponders measured a subcutaneous tissue temperature, which was about 1°C lower than the rectal temperature. However, a simple linear relationship between the measures of the two methods was found.ConclusionsOur study showed that the tested body monitoring system may represent a promising tool to obtain an approximate correlate of body temperatures in groups of pigs. In contrast, however, the tested system did not constitute a suitable tool to measure body temperatures of individual animals in the present pig infection experiment.

Highlights

The applicability of an electronic monitoring system using microchip transponders for measurement of body temperatures was tested in 6-week-old conventional Danish weaners infected with classical swine fever virus (CSFV)
The transponder in pig 12 could not be recognized by the scanner after post infection day (PID) 5
Temperature data from pig 12 were excluded after PID 5 when the pig was euthanized according to the experimental set-up

Summary

Introduction

The applicability of an electronic monitoring system using microchip transponders for measurement of body temperatures was tested in 6-week-old conventional Danish weaners infected with classical swine fever virus (CSFV). Subcutaneous tissue temperatures obtained by the implantable transponders were compared with rectal temperatures, recorded by a conventional digital thermometer. The clinical monitoring of these studies inevitably includes registration of the animal's body temperature. Our standard procedure to obtain these data is to measure the rectal temperature using a digital thermometer, if necessary under restraint of the animal. Depending on the number of experimental pigs and the frequency of body temperature measurements required, the rectal recording method can be rather laborious and time consuming. The restraint of the animal may be stressful and compromise the well-being, leading to a hyperthermic response, usually of short duration only [4].

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Results

Conclusion