P.PSH.1037 - Final Report

Summary

The EmbediVet implantable project was brought about by Livestock Labs to develop a device that would addresses a gap in the agriculture technology (ag-tech) sector. Ag-tech has mainly focused on developing crop related technology and left animal production ready for new technology solutions. Livestock Labs saw one addressable area where producers need to know the wellbeing of each animal in the herd. This kind of precision management in livestock has become more complex over time due to increasing herd sizes, new technologies and regulations. Animal producers across the food chain would benefit from having information about the health and welfare of their animals regularly collected and provided to them throughout the animal’s lifecycle.

The EmbediVet device was designed to be implanted under the skin of livestock and collect biometric markers of animal health and well-being. The markers were identified early on in the research process and included heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, and activity level. The data would be collected by a set of physical sensors that were encapsulated in biocompatible material. This data is then processed and provided to producers regarding the animal’s health and welfare.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the project were to engineer an implantable device to measure temperature, movement and heart rate. The device would be tested in the field with livestock to ensure the accuracy of measurements and to develop a good customer experience model. A second device would be developed to allow the implant to be inserted into a cow by a producer with little assistance by a veterinarian.

Key findings

At the conclusion of the project, the implantable device was in the testing and refinement stage for the version that will be used to move forward mass manufacture and deployment to market. The supporting technologies are entering a refinement and improvement stage to ensure the maturation of the whole EmbediVet system.

As Livestock Labs moves strategically into the market, Australian beef producers will benefit from animal health monitoring, asset assurance, and rapid identification of distress and illness. With increased adoption of the EmbediVet system into the Australian beef cattle market there will be improved productivity and efficiency which will generate larger profits along the supply chain and helping make Australia more competitive in the worldwide beef market.

It will also bring a level of asset assurance and traceability that the banking, insurance, live exports, and government sectors can use to better assist food producers.

Benefits to industry

Beef producers want to maximise productivity and minimise inefficiencies. The EmbediVet System boosts productivity by providing alerts and metrics on each animal. Producers of large-scale pasture operations and feedlots of all sizes would benefit from an affordable way to closely supervise cattle in a scalable way.

MLA action

MLA is using the outcomes of this project to create new opportunities for industry.

Future research

The implant design will continue to be iterated with a focus on a smaller footprint, greater lifespan, and production cost reduction. Some of the early sensors and metric had either high complexity to develop or did not provide enough value to the customer to be pursued in the early version of the implant. As the EmbediVet system matures, new sensors and metrics should be evaluated and pursued if they are aligned with the needs of customer and the vision of the company.

Some promising ones include audio detection of illness, determining blood pressure, calculating weight, and measuring key chemical markers in the body. The EmbediVet neural network R&D will ramp up as larger datasets are obtained, resulting in numerous insights around animal health, wellbeing, and value.