US-12616170-B2 - Determination of methane emitted by ruminants

US12616170B2US 12616170 B2US12616170 B2US 12616170B2US-12616170-B2

Abstract

Eructations from ruminant animals is measured by use of an electronic bolus in the animals' reticulum, and a host processor which receives sensing data via a communication gateway. The bolus sensors provide physical 3 D movement of the bolus in the animal's rumen, specifically ventral sac. By calibration according to general animal phenotypes, group quantitative data for volume of emissions can be determined for periods of time up to the full lifetime of an animal. The processor monitors, according to accelerometer signals, animal body activity to determine in real time periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen. It determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and also rumination is taking place. It identifies low body activity primarily according to movement of the accelerometer; and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity and a condition that it follows immediately after feeding. It monitors rumination primary and secondary contractions during monitoring periods, and identifies a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation.

Inventors

Desmond SAVAGE
Sean Savage

Assignees

AGRI IOT LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210727
Priority Date: 20200729

Claims (19)

1 . An apparatus for measuring gas emissions from ruminant animals, the apparatus comprising: at least one electronic bolus adapted to be internally resident in an animal and to emit sensed data wirelessly, each bolus comprising a housing containing a power supply, at least one sensor including an accelerometer, a sensor drive and data capture circuit, and a wireless signal interface for transmitting the sensing data and an animal unique identifier, a gateway configured to receive the sensing data, a host processor to process the sensed data to generate emissions data, wherein the sensed data includes extent of activity provided by the accelerometer as movement of the bolus within an animal, and the host processor is configured to use said activity data to identify eructations and to generate an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal to estimate the emission rates, and wherein the host processor is configured to: analyse the sensed data according to machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, establish cluster data sets to assist identification of eructation events, and to perform the data processing according to a calibration method according to a controlled environment with multiple animals with electronic boluses administered, and to record or estimate the total number of eructations from the time an electronic bolus is administered to an animal, until time of death of the animal or removal from a herd.
2 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least some electronic boluses comprise a plurality of sensors, and wherein the sensors of at least some electronic boluses comprise a temperature probe.
3 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least some electronic boluses comprise a plurality of sensors, and wherein the sensors include a pressure sensor and the sensed data includes animal rumination pressure differentials.
4 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least some electronic boluses comprise a plurality of sensors, and wherein the sensors include a temperature sensor and the sensed data includes temperature readings, and the host processor is configured to use said temperature readings to identify animal behaviour to assist with identifying eructations.
5 . An apparatus for measuring gas emissions from ruminant animals, the apparatus comprising: at least one electronic bolus adapted to be internally resident in an animal and to emit sensed data wirelessly, each bolus comprising a housing containing a power supply, at least one sensor including an accelerometer, a sensor drive and data capture circuit, and a wireless signal interface for transmitting the sensing data and an animal unique identifier, a gateway configured to receive the sensing data, and a host processor to process the sensed data to generate emissions data, wherein the sensed data includes extent of activity provided by the accelerometer as movement of the bolus within an animal, and the host processor is configured to use said activity data to identify eructations and to generate an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal to estimate the emission rates, and wherein the host processor is configured to: monitor, according to accelerometer-originating sensed data, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and to monitor rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and to identify a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation.
6 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the host processor is configured to generate gas emissions data according to an assumption that eructations of animals of a particular group are repeatable with a standard volume, and wherein the host processor is configured to identify said groups according to breed, age and sex of the animal.
7 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the host processor is configured to: monitor, according to accelerometer-originating sensed data, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and to monitor rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and to identify a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation, determine a monitoring period as a period when both body activity is below a threshold and also rumination is taking place, and to identify rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding.
8 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the host processor is configured to: monitor, according to accelerometer-originating sensed data, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and to monitor rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and to identify a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation wherein the host processor is configured to store characteristics of accelerometer signals for identifying when the animal is feeding, and to identify animal body activities and drinking behaviour as being indicative of feeding behaviour, and to identify animal drinking behaviour by monitoring temperature at the bolus, in which temporary temperature drops indicate intake of water.
9 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the host processor is configured to: monitor, according to accelerometer-originating sensed data, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and monitor rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and to identify a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation, and to in real time, change the host local processor settings during a monitoring period to: (a) increase the sampling rate for the accelerometer signals, and (b) increase the sensitivity of response to the accelerometer signals so that smaller movements than those outside of a monitoring period are sampled and processed.
10 . An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the host processor is configured to: monitor, according to accelerometer-originating sensed data, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and monitor rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and to identify a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation wherein the processor is configured to identify a secondary contraction on the conditions of: (i) there being a determined monitoring period at present, (ii) there being a series of one or more primary contractions and a secondary contraction follows said series, and (iii) motion amplitude of the accelerometer is greater for a secondary contraction than for the primary contraction or contractions.
11 . A method performed by an apparatus for estimating gas emissions of a ruminant animal, the apparatus comprising: at least one electronic bolus adapted to be internally resident in an animal and to emit sensed data wirelessly, each bolus comprising a housing containing a power supply, at least one sensor including an accelerometer, a sensor drive and data capture circuit, and a wireless signal interface for transmitting the sensing data and an animal unique identifier, a gateway configured to receive the sensing data, and a host processor to process the sensed data to generate emissions data, wherein the sensed data includes extent of activity provided by the accelerometer as movement of the bolus within an animal, and the host processor is configured to use said activity data to identify eructations and to generate an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal to estimate the emission rates; wherein the method comprising the host processor processing sensing signals from a bolus in the animal to determine activity data according to movement of the bolus, and using said activity data to identify eructations, and generating an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal, and wherein the host processor monitors, according to accelerometer signals, animal body activity to determine in real time monitoring periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an animal's rumen, and monitors rumination primary and secondary contractions during said monitoring periods, and identifies a secondary contraction as representative of an eructation.
12 . The method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the host processor generates gas emissions data according to an assumption that eructations of animals of a particular group are repeatable with a standard volume, and identifies said groups according to breed, age and sex of the animal.
13 . A method performed by an apparatus for estimating gas emissions of a ruminant animal, the apparatus comprising: at least one electronic bolus adapted to be internally resident in an animal and to emit sensed data wirelessly, each bolus comprising a housing containing a power supply, at least one sensor including an accelerometer, a sensor drive and data capture circuit, and a wireless signal interface for transmitting the sensing data and an animal unique identifier, a gateway configured to receive the sensing data, and a host processor to process the sensed data to generate emissions data, wherein the sensed data includes extent of activity provided by the accelerometer as movement of the bolus within an animal, and the host processor is configured to use said activity data to identify eructations and to generate an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal to estimate the emission rates; wherein the method comprising the host processor processing sensing signals from a bolus in the animal to determine activity data according to movement of the bolus, and using said activity data to identify eructations, and generating an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal according to a count of the detected eructations and characteristics of an animal, and wherein the processor determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and rumination is taking place, identifies body activity primarily according to linear acceleration and/or rotation of the accelerometer, and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding.
14 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the processor determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and rumination is taking place, identifies body activity primarily according to linear acceleration and/or rotation of the accelerometer, and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding, and wherein the host processor stores characteristics of accelerometer signals for identifying when the animal is feeding.
15 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the processor determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and rumination is taking place, identifies body activity primarily according to linear acceleration and/or rotation of the accelerometer, and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding, and wherein the host processor identifies animal body activities and drinking behaviours as being indicative of feeding behaviour.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the processor determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and rumination is taking place, identifies body activity primarily according to linear acceleration and/or rotation of the accelerometer, and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding, and wherein the host processor identifies animal drinking behaviour by monitoring temperature at the bolus, in which temporary temperature drops indicate intake of water.
17 . A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the processor determines a monitoring period as a period when body activity is below a threshold and rumination is taking place, identifies body activity primarily according to linear acceleration and/or rotation of the accelerometer, and identifies rumination according to a pattern of body activity, drinking behaviour, and a condition that rumination follows immediately after feeding, and wherein the processor, in real time, changes the bolus and host processor settings to: (a) increase the sampling rate for the accelerometer signals, and (b) increase the sensitivity of response to the accelerometer signals so that smaller movements than those outside of a monitoring period are sampled and processed.
18 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the processor identifies a secondary contraction on the conditions of: (i) there being a determined monitoring period at present, (ii) there being a series of one or more primary contractions and a secondary contraction follows said series, and (iii) motion amplitude of the accelerometer is greater for a secondary contraction than for the primary contraction or contractions.
19 . A non-transitory data storage medium comprising software code for performing a method of claim 11 when executing on a digital data processor.

Description

INTRODUCTION The present invention relates to measurement of greenhouse gases, especially methane, emitted by ruminants such as cattle, camels, and goats. Ruminants are mammals that chew the cud by regurgitating feed before fully digesting it. Ruminants comprise of cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer, camels, giraffes and their relatives. This process of cud regurgitating is known as rumination, during which the ruminants excrete or belch greenhouse gases, namely, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as by-products. The emission of CH4 and CO2 impacts negatively on the efficiency of the ruminant to convert the consumed feed source (e.g. grass, grain) into protein (e.g. meat and/or milk) and has detrimental effects on the environment by adding greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere. A cow (example of ruminant) can produce in excess of 600 litres of CH4 per day, by eructations (“belches”). This represents a potential energy loss to the cow of over 10%. By reducing and controlling the eructations from ruminants, farmers can gain efficiencies in food production whilst also reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses produced. Fermentation in the rumen generates very large quantities of gas, about 30-50 litres per hour in adult cattle. In cattle, eructated gas travels up the esophagus at speeds in excess of 160 cm per second, with an eructation occurring 1 to 3 times per minute depending on the current activity. U.S. Pat. No. 10,905,100 (Laporte-Uribe) describes monitoring methane (CH4) concentrations during fermentation to deduce an indication of amount of methane produced by an animal, in which dissolved CH4 concentrations can be measured directly with a specific NIRS (near-Infrared spectrometry) sensor and the evolution of methane during the day will give a good indication of the amount of CH4 produced for a certain animal, group of animals and diets. WO2013/003892 (Wright), describes a method for predicting greenhouse gas emissions for ruminants, the method comprising obtaining data indicative of an amount of at least one gas within the stomach of a ruminant, the data being derived from the output of at least one gas sensor provided by a gas measurement device disposed within the ruminant's stomach; correlating the received data with emitted gas data obtained from one or more respiration chamber readings for the ruminant; and processing the correlated data to predict a greenhouse gas emission for the ruminant. US2015/0285783 (Lely Patent) describes determining greenhouse gas emissions according to a count of eructations, by way of a sound recorder. WO2021030793 (MIT) describes use of acoustic sensing, in this case in the nasal passageways. EP3315965 (AGRIAL) describes an approach with a muzzle-type device for counting eructations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,618 describes using a tracer gas release capsule in the stomach. It is desirable to find a more effective and reliable solution to accurately estimate the level of greenhouse gases emitted in real time by ruminants. The invention addresses this problem. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE We describe an apparatus for measuring gas emissions from ruminant animals, the apparatus comprising at least one electronic bolus adapted to be internally resident in an animal and to emit sensed data wirelessly and perform local processing within a circuit of the bolus. Each bolus has a housing containing a power supply, at least one sensor including an accelerometer incorporating a gyroscope (hereafter referred to simply as an “accelerometer”), a sensor drive and data capture circuit, and a wireless signal interface for transmitting sensing data. The extent of data transmission depends on the extent of data processing which is performed locally. A gateway is configured to receive sensing data, and a host processor to process received sensing data to accurately estimate emissions data. The host processor is configured to generate an estimate of total gas emitted over a period of time for an individual animal, according to a count of the eructations and characteristics of an animal to estimate the emission rates. The count of eructations from within the rumen does not require any apparatus or sensing in the region of the head of the animal, only motion signals from an accelerometer in the bolus. An electronic bolus is well known per se, and it is known that an electronic bolus can reside in an animal's rumen without adversely affecting welfare or normal behaviour of the animal. Accelerometers are well known and the invention takes advantage of the extent of information which can be gleaned from an accelerometer in an animal's rumen, and so generate eructation count data without need for invasiveness at the animal's mouth, nose, or breathing tracts. A particularly advantageous aspect is that the host processor is configured to monitor, according to accelerometer signals, animal body activity to determine in real time periods in which it monitors with increased sensitivity contractions in an