Publikationsdatenbank

Recording methods of respiratory parameters in cattle (2024)

Art

Hochschulschrift

Autor

Dißmann, Lena (WE 10)

Quelle

Berlin, 2024 — 63 Seiten

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/42739

Kontakt

Institut für Tier- und Umwelthygiene

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14169 Berlin
+49 30 838 51845
tierhygiene@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

The respiration rate (RR) is a suitable parameter for assessing the health status of cattle, as it is very sensitive for detecting stress or pain, and thus shows an indisposition in animals at an early stage. Furthermore, it is a suitable parameter for the early detection of heat stress, which becomes increasingly important due to climate change. In order to determine the proportion of heat emitted through respiration, an additional measurement of the tidal volume (Vt) is necessary. The measurement of Vt is also suitable to assess the performance of the lungs and allows conclusions about respiratory and lung diseases. The gold standard methods for both parameters are time consuming and can also influence the behavior of the cow. Counting the cow's flank movements is often used as the method of choice for recording RR. However, different methods are found in literature regarding duration and type of counting. While in some studies, the RR was counted for 5 or 10 breaths and then extrapolated to 60 s, other authors counted the RR for 15, 30 or 60 s. In order to determine which method is the most precise, Publication “A” compared the 5 methods mentioned above. The reference method used was an RR sensor that reliably measures the RR based on the pressure difference between inhalation and exhalation. In Publication "A", it was shown that counting the RR for 60 s is the most accurate method and that as the RR increases, the inaccuracy of the other methods continues to increase compared to counting for 60 s. Since a facemask has to be fitted around mouth and nostrils to measure Vt, the second fundamental parameter in lung function diagnostics, by a pneumotachograph, the animals have to be restrained during the entire experiment and since the behavior is severely restricted by the mask, only short measurement periods are possible. Therefore, the driving force for Publication "B" was to investigate whether it is possible to derive a Vt equivalent from the measured pressure of the RR sensor. A successful outcome would greatly simplify the measurement method, as the animals only have to be fixed for measurements with the RR sensor and can then move freely in the barn, making longer measurements possible. However, it was shown in Publication "B" that technical adaptations to the RR sensor are necessary in order to be able to reliably determine the Vt equivalent. Furthermore, there are approaches in human medicine to determine a relative Vt using infrared thermography, which can also be used to calculate the RR based on the temperature difference of the inhaled and exhaled air. The trend in livestock research is similar – sensors attached to the animal are being replaced by contactless systems for data acquisition. The main advantages of this alternative is that one sensor can record multiple animals and no animal fixation is needed to attach the sensors, which also reduces the risk of injury to humans. For this reason, we are currently testing infrared as well as depth cameras at ATB in cooperation with the University of Hildesheim, the Dida Data Science GmbH, and LVAT as part of the KAMI project (Artificial intelligence for measuring respiration in dairy cows). The aim of future studies is to use artificial intelligence and imaging techniques to automatically record the RR and integrate this parameter into existing herd management systems.