US 12,064,230 B2
Method, device, and system for ascertaining at least one state variable of a livestock organism
Michael Astl, Graz (AT); Philipp Kulich, Graz (AT); Stefan Brandstätter, Graz (AT); Manuel Frech, Hinterstoder (AT); Matthias Wutte, Graz (AT); and Stefan Rosenkranz, Graz (AT)
Assigned to smaXtec animal care GmbH, Graz (AT)
Appl. No. 17/292,949
Filed by Smaxtec Animal Care GmbH, Graz (AT)
PCT Filed Nov. 13, 2019, PCT No. PCT/AT2019/060386
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 11, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/097655, PCT Pub. Date May 22, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. A 50986/2018 (AT), filed on Nov. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0000388 A1, Jan. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. A61B 5/07 (2006.01); A01K 29/00 (2006.01); A61B 5/11 (2006.01); G01P 15/18 (2013.01)
CPC A61B 5/073 (2013.01) [A01K 29/005 (2013.01); A61B 5/1118 (2013.01); G01P 15/18 (2013.01); A61B 2503/10 (2013.01); A61B 2562/0219 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
 
1. A method for determining at least one state variable of an organism of at least one farm animal, wherein at least one probe device for measurement of at least one physical parameter is disposed in a gastro-intestinal tract of the farm animal and at least one evaluation unit is disposed outside the gastro-intestinal tract of the farm animal,
characterized by the following steps:
a1) using the at least one probe device to determine an acceleration of the at least one probe device in all three spatial directions of a Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the determination takes place in at least one of the following manners: continuously: at regular intervals: continuously as soon as the at least one physical parameter measured by the at least one probe device has exceeded a threshold value: at regular intervals, as soon as the at least one physical parameter measured by the at least one probe device has exceeded the threshold value; continuously or at regular intervals for a predefined time interval as soon as the at least one physical parameter measured by the at least one probe device exceeds the threshold value as a first of the at least one physical parameter of the at least one probe device;
a2) determining the acceleration of step a1) as the at least one first physical parameter by carrying out at least one of the following steps: summing absolute values of the acceleration values determined in step a1), summing squares of the acceleration values determined in step a1), root of the sum of the squares of the acceleration values determined in step a1) arctan of the acceleration values determined in step a1) for a y axis and a z axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, arctan of the root of the sum of the squares of the acceleration values determined in step a1) and an x axis of the Cartesian coordinate system;
b) converting the at least one first physical parameter into a motility value as a first state variable of the organism of the farm animal in a probe control unit of the at least one probe device, wherein values of the at least one first physical parameter that are greater than or equal to a threshold value, are assigned a value of a binary “1” and measured values of the at least one first physical parameter that are lower than the threshold value are assigned a value “0”, with the threshold value either being stored predefined on the at least one probe device or being transmitted from the at least one evaluation unit in an occasion-related manner to the at least one probe device or consisting of a base threshold value and an adaptable dynamic value added to the base threshold value or subtracted from the base threshold value depending on the behaviour of the at least one first physical parameter;
c) wirelessly electronically transmitting the first state variable as a binary rectangular signal by the at least one probe device to the at least one evaluation unit; and
d) converting the first state variable into a second state variable in the at least one evaluation unit.