RESEARCH
By Amber Hutchinson
[
EARLY DETECTION
New cow-side device will help farmers maintain a healthier herd
our cows can be vulnerable to metabolic disease during their postpartum period. When assessing a
cow’s condition, having quick answers can
help you find solutions faster, resulting in
a healthier cow. A new device engineered
at the University of Guelph will let you
evaluate cows faster and easier by bringing
the lab to the farm.
Professor Suresh Neethirajan, school of
engineering, developed a new tool called
Gryphsens. It is a small handheld device
resembling a glucometer, a human blood
glucose measurement device. It can detect
low levels of metabolic disease markers
in the blood, letting producers treat their
cows at the earliest sign of illness, reduce
complications and speed-up recovery.
“Having this device on the farm provides an immediate solution for dairy
farmers by acting as an early warning sys-
Y
tem to monitor herds before disease occurs,” says Neethirajan.
Dairy cows increase their energy expenditure without increasing their food intake
during the postpartum period. This causes
them to lose weight, which is metabolically
classified as negative energy balance (NEB). A
NEB can suppress the immune system, placing
a cow’s health at risk by increasing its chance of
developing metabolic disease, such as ketosis.
NEB also stimulates the breakdown of fat
stores, releasing free fatty acids (FFA) and ketones. Both signify fat is being used for energy.
Elevated levels of FFA in the circulatory system
indicate an early sign of metabolic disease.
Current testing for increased FFA and
ketone levels include drawing several vials
of blood and sending them to a laboratory
for multiple tests with results taking up to
five days.
The Gryphsens is able to detect low lev-
els of circulating FFA and ketones using
only a single drop of blood or milk, almost
immediately. A drop of blood can be taken from the cow’s tail and placed onto a
cartridge containing two electrodes, each
coated with an enzyme to detect FFA or
ketones. The cartridge is then inserted into
the handheld digital reading system.
A number appears on the screen quantifying FFA and ketones in the blood
within seconds. The number also corresponds with a green checkmark or a red
‘X’ to show if a cow’s levels are within or
outside the clinically healthy range.
Neethirajan says the Gryphsens device
is also cost effective. Current blood samples sent to the lab cost about $10 to $20
to be tested. The cost will be reduced to $2
to $3 per test with the Gryphsens, he adds.
Neethirajan and his team want to develop the same sensor for the in-line robotic milking machines that will monitor
the levels of FFA and ketones of the herd
individually every time they are milked,
saving the farmer the time it would take to
test each cow separately.
Neethirajan estimates Gryphsens will
be on the market in about two years.
Amber Hutchinson is a student writer for the
University of Guelph’s Office of Research. This
research is funded by Dairy Farmers of Ontario
and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
A NEW TOOL called Gryphsens can detect low levels of metabolic disease
markers in a cow’s blood. This lets producers treat their animals at the earliest
sign of illness.
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APRIL 2016 | MILKPRODUCER
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