Project description
Early detection of diseases in dairy cows
Milk and dairy products are vital sources of nutrition for billions of people, constituting about 5 % of total food intake. The dairy industry is required to improve its productivity to meet the increasing demand. Dairy cow diseases, however, are the main reason for the significant drops observed in dairy production. Therefore, a process for efficient and constant monitoring and early disease detection is needed. The EU-funded BREATHSENS project aims to apply a novel technology based on breath analysis to detect diseases in dairy cattle. The new method will comprise a non-invasive and automated spectroscopic sensor enabling disease detection before its clinical symptoms manifest. The sensor will improve cow health and reduce costs and environmental impacts, in addition to ensuring a better quality of life for the animals.
Objective
Dairy products accounts for some 5% of the global food intake, with dairy industry revenues in 2019 of around €675 billion. This dietary component is important in the global challenge of feeding the increasing human population that is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. To attain peak productivity and efficiency, the health and well-being of each dairy cow is of paramount importance. We aim to use a non-invasive and automated spectroscopic sensor applied on breath, so that illness in individual cows can be detected well before clinical symptoms manifest. The technology is derived from the extremely sensitive and ultra-high spectral resolution cavity-enhanced spectroscopic methods developed in fundamental investigations on molecular hydrogen. We will first target ketosis, which is a common metabolic deficiency that causes estimated losses of more than €1 billion per year for the EU dairy farming industry. The continuous monitoring and early illness detection would enable timely and tailored feed adjustments by farmers to prevent or alleviate disease progression. The goal of this project is to make a portable prototype and explore opportunities of building a sustainable business around it. This novel and unique method will not only help reduce economic costs and minimize environmental emissions, but will help ensure a better quality of life for the farm animals.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedairy
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantHost institution
1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands