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Research
Research EDITORIAL
Using infrared radiation to detect local inflammation in cattle Y. R. Montanholi RADIANT heat loss accounts for most of the heat lost from the bodies of healthy animals, and varies according to metabolic rate and environmental temperature and humidity in cattle (Blaxter 1962). The hide of cattle can act in a similar way to a blackbody, emitting the vast majority of body surface radiation (Ring 2004). This infrared radiation emitted by the body surface can be captured using infrared thermography and thermometry and, for both technologies, it is possible to make inferences about body surface temperature based on the assessment of the emitted radiation. Infrared sensing is a non-contact assessment and is therefore more reliable for body surface temperature assessments than contact methods. In the past decade, the application of infrared sensing technology in scientific, clinical and on-farm settings has expanded considerably, mainly due to technical advances associated with the lowering of equipment costs. It was in 1973 that Cena and Clark impressed the scientific community with the publication of a thermal image of an elephant. This triggered a myriad of infrared sensing applications in animals leading to commercial applications. Both infrared thermography and thermometry may be applied where radiation is anatomically delimited and can be assessed through a limited infrared scanning area. However, there are situations where the simplicity and Y. R. Montanholi, DVM, PhD, Ruminant Husbandry, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, 58 River Road, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
306 | Veterinary Record | March 21, 2015
affordability of infrared thermometry does not fulfil these needs. Infrared thermography is preferable when there is a need to capture radiation over large areas to understand biological phenomena, such as to determine dorsal fin surface temperatures of dolphins (Barbieri and others 2010), to assess metabolic rate and methane production in cattle (Montanholi and others 2008), and to understand honeybee adaptations for surviving in winter (Stabentheiner and others 2003). Infrared thermography is also preferable in situations where the radiation emitted exhibits small and gradual changes, as in the scrotum of bulls, where temperature profile is related to sperm quality measures (Bourgon and others 2015) (Fig 1). The detection of localised inflammatory illnesses is by far the most successful application of infrared sensing in domestic animals (Fig 2) and has great potential for the application of infrared thermometry. There is a considerable increase in local surface temperature in response to inflammation, and this offers the possibility of optimising routine monitoring of locations and conditions which are common causes of inflammation, such as in udders for mastitis detection (Colak and others 2008) and the hooves for laminitis detection (Nikkhah and others 2005) in dairy cows. In this context, the study on infrared thermometry for monitoring lameness (Wood and others 2014), summarised on p 308 of this issue of Veterinary Record, demonstrates the appropriateness of a relatively simple and affordable technology – infrared thermometry – for the assessment
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Research
FIG 1: Infrared images of the scrotum of a bull (A) Scrotum with normal patterns, as indicated by the gradual (layered) cooling observed from the top towards the base of the scrotum. (B) Scrotum with abnormal patterns, as indicated by the random temperature distribution. The thermographically normal scrotum has a lower abundance of sperm abnormalities
FIG 2: Infrared thermography of the left (A) and right (B) hindfeet of a cow. The lower portion of the foot on the left is visually warmer than the foot on the right, indicating the occurrence of an inflammation suggestive of laminitis
of hoof inflammatory illnesses in dairy cows. The study also demonstrates the possibility of discriminating the type of lesion based on hoof temperature patterns and the occurrence of an inflammatory process before behavioural signs occur. The results from Woods and others’ study are encouraging and may lead to further developments of routine remote sensing technology in commercial dairy farms. One can foresee the development of a robotic system for finding the appropriate ‘hotspot’ and measuring the temperature through infrared thermometry. Such a system should also take into consideration environmental conditions, such as the cleanness of the hoof (or other target). This type of technical solution is becoming more and more relevant in light of the rate at which dairy herds are continuing to increase in size and with dairy producers
no longer knowing their cows by name. Woods and others took an important step in this direction and the future holds further exciting advances.
References
Blaxter, K. L. (1962) The Energy Metabolism of Ruminants. Hutchinson. Barbieri, B. B., McLellan, W. A., Wells, R. S., Blum, J. E., Hofmann, S., Gannon, J. & Pabst, D. A. (2010) Using infrared thermography to assess seasonal trends in dorsal fin surface temperatures of free-swimming bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammal Science 26, 53-66 Bourgon, S., Montanholi, Y. R. & Miller, S. P. (2015) Advanced bull test evaluation: bridging superior feed efficiency with optimal reproductive development and semen quality. Omafra Virtual Beef 15, 5-7 Cena, K. & Clark, J. A. (1973) Thermographic measurements of the surface temperature of animals. Journal of Mammalogy 54, 1003-1007 Colak, A., Polat, B., Okumus, Z., Kaya, M., Yanmaz L. E. & Hayirli, A. (2008) Early detec-
tion of mastitis using infrared thermography in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 4244-4248 Montanholi, Y. R., Odongo, N. E., Swanson, K. C., Schenkel, F. S., McBride, B. W. & Miller, S. P. (2008) Application of infrared thermography as an indicator of heat and methane production and its use in the study of skin temperature in response to physiological events in dairy cattle (Bos taurus). Journal of Thermal Biology 33, 468-475 Nikkhah, A., Plaizier, J. C., Einarson, M. S., Berry, R. J., Scott, S. L. & Kennedy, A. D. (2005) Infrared thermography and visual examination of hooves of dairy cows in two stages of lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 2749-2753 Ring, E. F. J. (2004) The historical development of temperature measurement in medicine. Infrared Physics and Technology 49, 297-301 Stabentheiner, A., Pressl, H., Papst, T., Hrassnigg, N. & Crailsheim, K. (2003) Endothermic heat production in honeybee winter clusters. Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 353-358 Wood, S., Lin, Y., Knowles, T. G. & Main, D. C. J (2014) Infrared thermography for lesion monitoring in cattle lameness. Veterinary Record doi:10.1136/vr.102571
doi: 10.1136/vr.h1404
March 21, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 307
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Using infrared radiation to detect local inflammation in cattle Y. R. Montanholi Veterinary Record 2015 176: 306-307
doi: 10.1136/vr.h1404 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/12/306
These include:
References Email alerting service
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Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Research
Research EDITORIAL
Using infrared radiation to detect local inflammation in cattle Y. R. Montanholi RADIANT heat loss accounts for most of the heat lost from the bodies of healthy animals, and varies according to metabolic rate and environmental temperature and humidity in cattle (Blaxter 1962). The hide of cattle can act in a similar way to a blackbody, emitting the vast majority of body surface radiation (Ring 2004). This infrared radiation emitted by the body surface can be captured using infrared thermography and thermometry and, for both technologies, it is possible to make inferences about body surface temperature based on the assessment of the emitted radiation. Infrared sensing is a non-contact assessment and is therefore more reliable for body surface temperature assessments than contact methods. In the past decade, the application of infrared sensing technology in scientific, clinical and on-farm settings has expanded considerably, mainly due to technical advances associated with the lowering of equipment costs. It was in 1973 that Cena and Clark impressed the scientific community with the publication of a thermal image of an elephant. This triggered a myriad of infrared sensing applications in animals leading to commercial applications. Both infrared thermography and thermometry may be applied where radiation is anatomically delimited and can be assessed through a limited infrared scanning area. However, there are situations where the simplicity and Y. R. Montanholi, DVM, PhD, Ruminant Husbandry, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, 58 River Road, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada e-mail: [email protected]
306 | Veterinary Record | March 21, 2015
affordability of infrared thermometry does not fulfil these needs. Infrared thermography is preferable when there is a need to capture radiation over large areas to understand biological phenomena, such as to determine dorsal fin surface temperatures of dolphins (Barbieri and others 2010), to assess metabolic rate and methane production in cattle (Montanholi and others 2008), and to understand honeybee adaptations for surviving in winter (Stabentheiner and others 2003). Infrared thermography is also preferable in situations where the radiation emitted exhibits small and gradual changes, as in the scrotum of bulls, where temperature profile is related to sperm quality measures (Bourgon and others 2015) (Fig 1). The detection of localised inflammatory illnesses is by far the most successful application of infrared sensing in domestic animals (Fig 2) and has great potential for the application of infrared thermometry. There is a considerable increase in local surface temperature in response to inflammation, and this offers the possibility of optimising routine monitoring of locations and conditions which are common causes of inflammation, such as in udders for mastitis detection (Colak and others 2008) and the hooves for laminitis detection (Nikkhah and others 2005) in dairy cows. In this context, the study on infrared thermometry for monitoring lameness (Wood and others 2014), summarised on p 308 of this issue of Veterinary Record, demonstrates the appropriateness of a relatively simple and affordable technology – infrared thermometry – for the assessment
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Research
FIG 1: Infrared images of the scrotum of a bull (A) Scrotum with normal patterns, as indicated by the gradual (layered) cooling observed from the top towards the base of the scrotum. (B) Scrotum with abnormal patterns, as indicated by the random temperature distribution. The thermographically normal scrotum has a lower abundance of sperm abnormalities
FIG 2: Infrared thermography of the left (A) and right (B) hindfeet of a cow. The lower portion of the foot on the left is visually warmer than the foot on the right, indicating the occurrence of an inflammation suggestive of laminitis
of hoof inflammatory illnesses in dairy cows. The study also demonstrates the possibility of discriminating the type of lesion based on hoof temperature patterns and the occurrence of an inflammatory process before behavioural signs occur. The results from Woods and others’ study are encouraging and may lead to further developments of routine remote sensing technology in commercial dairy farms. One can foresee the development of a robotic system for finding the appropriate ‘hotspot’ and measuring the temperature through infrared thermometry. Such a system should also take into consideration environmental conditions, such as the cleanness of the hoof (or other target). This type of technical solution is becoming more and more relevant in light of the rate at which dairy herds are continuing to increase in size and with dairy producers
no longer knowing their cows by name. Woods and others took an important step in this direction and the future holds further exciting advances.
References
Blaxter, K. L. (1962) The Energy Metabolism of Ruminants. Hutchinson. Barbieri, B. B., McLellan, W. A., Wells, R. S., Blum, J. E., Hofmann, S., Gannon, J. & Pabst, D. A. (2010) Using infrared thermography to assess seasonal trends in dorsal fin surface temperatures of free-swimming bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammal Science 26, 53-66 Bourgon, S., Montanholi, Y. R. & Miller, S. P. (2015) Advanced bull test evaluation: bridging superior feed efficiency with optimal reproductive development and semen quality. Omafra Virtual Beef 15, 5-7 Cena, K. & Clark, J. A. (1973) Thermographic measurements of the surface temperature of animals. Journal of Mammalogy 54, 1003-1007 Colak, A., Polat, B., Okumus, Z., Kaya, M., Yanmaz L. E. & Hayirli, A. (2008) Early detec-
tion of mastitis using infrared thermography in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 4244-4248 Montanholi, Y. R., Odongo, N. E., Swanson, K. C., Schenkel, F. S., McBride, B. W. & Miller, S. P. (2008) Application of infrared thermography as an indicator of heat and methane production and its use in the study of skin temperature in response to physiological events in dairy cattle (Bos taurus). Journal of Thermal Biology 33, 468-475 Nikkhah, A., Plaizier, J. C., Einarson, M. S., Berry, R. J., Scott, S. L. & Kennedy, A. D. (2005) Infrared thermography and visual examination of hooves of dairy cows in two stages of lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 2749-2753 Ring, E. F. J. (2004) The historical development of temperature measurement in medicine. Infrared Physics and Technology 49, 297-301 Stabentheiner, A., Pressl, H., Papst, T., Hrassnigg, N. & Crailsheim, K. (2003) Endothermic heat production in honeybee winter clusters. Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 353-358 Wood, S., Lin, Y., Knowles, T. G. & Main, D. C. J (2014) Infrared thermography for lesion monitoring in cattle lameness. Veterinary Record doi:10.1136/vr.102571
doi: 10.1136/vr.h1404
March 21, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 307
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 11, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Using infrared radiation to detect local inflammation in cattle Y. R. Montanholi Veterinary Record 2015 176: 306-307
doi: 10.1136/vr.h1404 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/12/306
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 8 articles, 2 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/12/306#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
