A Nondestructive Eggshell Thickness Measurement Technique Using Terahertz Waves

Abstract

eggshells play a number of important roles in the avian and reptile kingdom: protection of internal contents and as a major source of minerals for developing embryos. However, when researching these respective roles, eggshell thickness measurement remains a bottleneck due to the lack of a non-destructive measurement techniques. As a result, many avian and reptile research protocols omit consideration of eggshell thickness bias on egg or embryo growth and development. Here, we validate a non-destructive method to estimate eggshell thickness based on terahertz (THz) reflectance spectroscopy using chicken white coloured eggs. Since terahertz waves are reflected from outer aireggshell interface, as well as the inner eggshell-membrane boundary, the resulting interference signals depend on eggshell thickness. Thus, it is possible to estimate shell thickness from the oscillation distance in frequency-domain. A linear regression-based prediction model for non-destructive eggshell thickness measurement was developed, which had a coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.93, RMSEP of 0.009, RPD of 3.45 and RER 13.67. This model can estimate eggshell thickness to a resolution of less than 10 μm. This method has the potential to expand the protocols in the field of avian and reptile research, as well as be applied to industrial grading of eggs.

Thicker eggshells are not predicted by host egg ejection behaviour in four species of Australian cuckoo

“…Importantly, Hall-effect magnetic-inference methodology is very transportable and allows measurements to be taken in the field or in situ at museums when specimens cannot be transported. It is less expensive and more accessible than scanning electron microscopy 60 and micro computed tomography 61 , 62 , and complements other non-invasive approaches to estimate eggshell thickness in vivo 63 , 64 . Similar to previous benchmarking studies 65 , direct comparison of the precision and accuracy of all eggshell thickness estimation methods would be a valuable resource for the research community.…”

Terahertz Spectroscopy Applied to Diagnostics in Public Health: A Review

“…Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology. Vol.64: e21200770, 2021 www.scielo.br/babt One of first applications using THz spectrometry has happen in the identification of fecundated eggs immediately following chicken laying, due to its conformational alterations, allowing significative savings on industry costs [15]. Other potential use of THz spectrometry is the monitoring and quantification of carbohydrate molecules in plants by identifying a peak at the THz spectrum related to this carbohydrate.…”

“…Due to the spatial position of THz range in the electromagnetic spectrum, THz waves are transitory and have high penetration, broadband, coherence and low energy, and can detect the majority of biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and other viral proteins [15].…”

Effects of ventilation programme and eggshell thickness on hatchability rate and hatching time of broiler eggs

“…It is known that EST decreases as the egg yield increases (Christensen et al, 1994;Yamak et al, 2015). Modern technology allows non-destructive measurement of EST (Khaliduzzaman et al, 2020;Kibala et al, 2015) and could be used in managing the incubation process. An alternative way of reducing holding time would be to empty the incubators twice instead of once.…”