Concept study of an implantable microsystem for electrical resistance and temperature measurements in dairy cows, suitable for estrus detection

• Main Author: Morais, Raul
• Publication Date: 2006
• Other Authors: Valente, A., Almeida, J.C., Silva, Amélia M., Soares, Salviano, Reis, M.J.C.S., Valentim, Ramiro
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/2312
• topic: Microsystem; Electrical resistivity sensor; Wireless interface; Estrus prediction

In cantle breeding industry, where artificial insemination techniques are employed, the successful detection of estrus onser leads to considerable cost-saving in herd management. one of the most reliable approaches in based on the determination of progesterone concentration in milk. However, these methods rely on the biosensor concept where a biological substrate in used in a chemical-binding reaction to directly or indirectly producem some effect(electrical or light) that is used at the transducer level. These methods present several drawbacks concerning real-time measurements due to the complexity of the reactions involved and reagent/waste handling. Another approach is to combine measurements of temperature and electrical resistance os reproductive tissues to predict estrus. Using a low-power microsystem with wireless capabilities it is possible to take these measurements in situ an more frequently . The proposed mocrosystem comprises a second-order delta-sigma modulator for analog-to-digital conversion and a class-E radio frequently. Since estrus prediction in based on relative changes of the two correlated parameters, calibration is not necessary. Some preliminary results regarding the measuring concept are presented.