Sensor-Based Detection of the Severity of Hyperkeratosis in the Teats of Dairy Cows.

Susanne Demba,Gundula Hoffmann,Sandra Rose-Meierhöfer,Christian Ammon

doi:10.3390/s18113925

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the severity of hyperkeratosis (HK) in the teats of dairy cows can be assessed by a dielectric measurement. The study focused on surveying the occurrence of hyperkeratosis in a total of 241 teats of lactating dairy cows. A scoring system consisting of four categories was used to macroscopically assess the severity of HK. Additionally, the dielectric constant (DC) of all teats with milkability was measured in a double iteration with the MoistureMeterD (Delfin Technologies, Kuopio, Finland) on four different days. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient revealed a negative correlation between the DC and HK score (rs = −0.55 to −0.36). The results of the regression analysis showed that the DC values differed significantly between healthy teat ends (≤2) and teat ends with HK (≥3). Thus, the non-invasive measurement of DC provides a promising method of objectively assessing the occurrence and severity of HK.

Highlights

Teat end hyperkeratosis (HK) is defined as a thickened smooth keratin ring or as extending fronds of keratin around the teat canal orifice [1]
The aim of the present study was to validate the potential of measuring the dielectric constant (DC) of teat ends to evaluate the severity of HK in dairy cows
It can be concluded that measuring the DC of the teat orifice is a promising and objective method for assessing the occurrence and severity of HK in dairy cows, but it needs further improvements

Summary

Introduction

Teat end hyperkeratosis (HK) is defined as a thickened smooth keratin ring or as extending fronds of keratin around the teat canal orifice [1]. The severity of HK is an issue of importance because teat condition is connected with the capability to defend against mastitis pathogens [2]. Serious HK as well as a relatively higher roughness of the teat end both increases the risk of udder diseases [3,4,5]. Milk from non disinfected teats with an HK score higher than one have a larger content of somatic cells [6]. The prevalence of HK has been associated with many factors, such as season [7,8] and teat morphology [7,9] as well as milking traits such as milk flow [7], parity [7,9], and days in milk [8]. Milking technique may play a role in HK formation [10,11,12]

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion