Characteristics of thermal images of the mammary gland and of performance in sows differing in health status and parity

Abstract

Precision livestock farming can combine sensors and complex data to provide a simple score of meaningful productivity, pig welfare, and farm sustainability, which are the main drivers of modern pig production. Examples include using infrared thermography to monitor the temperature of sows to detect the early stages of the disease. To take account of these drivers, we assigned 697 hybrid (BHZP db. Viktoria) sows to four parity groups. In addition, by pooling clinical findings from every sow and their piglets, sows were classified into three groups for the annotation: healthy, clinically suspicious, and diseased. Besides, the udder was thermographed, and performance data were documented. Results showed that the piglets of diseased sows with eighth or higher parity had the lowest daily weight gain [healthy; 192 g ± 31.2, clinically suspicious; 191 g ± 31.3, diseased; 148 g ± 50.3 (p < 0.05)] and the highest number of stillborn piglets (healthy; 2.2 ± 2.39, clinically suspicious; 2.0 ± 1.62, diseased; 3.91 ± 4.93). Moreover, all diseased sows showed higher maximal skin temperatures by infrared thermography of the udder (p < 0.05). Thus, thermography coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems can help identify and orient the diagnosis of symptomatic animals to prompt adequate reaction at the earliest time.

Lactation in swine: review article

“…No differences in the contamination of pathogens between the milk sample and the biopsy could be detected. Recently, several new diagnostic tools have been tested to objectively describe disorders of the mammary gland in sows ( Spiegel et al, 2022a ) with numerous studies evaluating both infrared thermography and ultrasonography for an adequate diagnostic assessment ( Sporn, 2013 ; Spiegel, 2016 ; Peltoniemi et al, 2020 ; Latynina et al, 2021 ; Rosengart et al, 2022 ; Spiegel et al, 2022b ). Data from infrared thermography studies have yielded controversial results.…”

“…Data from infrared thermography studies have yielded controversial results. This technique detects diseased sows and disorders in the mammary gland, however, skin lesions of the udder can lead to misinterpretation ( Latynina et al, 2021 ; Rosengart et al, 2022 ; Spiegel et al, 2022b ). Ultrasonographic examination can be used for a detailed description of the mammary gland ( Figure 3 ) and clinical diagnosis of alterations, such as mammary gland oedema, monitoring teat health, or chronic lesions ( Sporn, 2013 ; Peltoniemi et al, 2020 ; Spiegel et al, 2022b ).…”