Development of a digital system for assessing the physiological state of cattle

Abstract

The condition of the scar affects the productivity of cattle (hereinafter — cattle). Untimely detection of problems in an animal can lead to unforeseen expenses that could have been prevented by automatic health monitoring systems. The pH of the contents of the scar can be controlled using intra-scar boluses. In this regard, a system for assessing the physiological state of cattle was developed and a suitable sensor technology for measuring variables was determined together with a wireless communication system based on the radio frequency protocol. The components have been combined into a commercial digital platform that stores data and has a visual interface. The temperature is determined with an error of no more than ± 0.75 °C. The prototypeʼs operability was tested in two stages — in an artificially created environment with controlled pH and temperature fluctuations and during in vivo field tests with a fistulated cow. The device was injected into the rumen of a cow and 10 measured values were obtained (every 30 minutes) for seven hours. The autonomy of the system is 4 years. Bolus collected and transmitted information in real time to the base station around the clock. The prototype provides in vivo data similar to in vitro data (R > 0.90, p < 0.05).