Infrared imaging a new non-invasive machine learning technology for animal husbandry

ABSTRACT

Infrared thermography lends countless applications in biology and veterinary science. The popularity of the use of infrared imaging in the detection and mitigation of animal diseases has increased recently because of its non-invasiveness, ease of automation and keen sensitivity. The current review addresses the applicability of thermographic imaging for the diagnosis of common swine diseases viz. Foot and Mouth Disease, lameness, respiratory diseases and diarrhoea. Infrared scanning confirmed the increase in temperature of the body parts of infected animals compared to the normal animals. Besides this, the review also addresses the use of IRT technology in numerous conditions like detection of ovulation, male fertility, stress level, meat quality, population size etc. Because of its ease of handling, it can be implemented as a first-line screening tool in disease diagnosis. However, further research on the use of a thermal camera for pig health screening is still obligatory for confirmed diagnostic results.

KEYWORDS:

• Thermographic imaging
• temperature
• pig
• non-invasive
• rapid diagnosis
• lesion
• inflammation
• stress
• pain‌

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig for granting permission to avail the facilities to carry out research. The authors also acknowledged Information Technology Research Academy, Govt. of India for the Grant support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr. Manasee Choudhury, Postdoctoral Fellow ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India, Expert in Life Science and Animal Biotechnology.

Dr. Tulika Saikia, Junior Research Fellow, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India, Expert in Animal Reproduction.

Dr. Santanu Banik, Principal Scientist, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India, Expert in Animal Genetics and Breeding.

Dr. Girish Patil, Principal Scientist, ICAR-National Research Centre on Meat, Hyderabad, India, Expert in Livestock Product Technology.

Dr. Seema Rani Pegu, Senior Scientist, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India ,Expert in Animal Health and Pathology.

Dr. Swaraj Rajkhowa, Principal Scientist, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India, Expert in Animal Health and Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Arnab Sen, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Research Complex on NEH, Umiam, Meghalaya , India, Expert in Animal Health.

Dr. Pranab Jyoti Das, Senior Scientist, ICAR-National Research Centre on Pig, Rani, Guwahati, India, Expert in Animal Genetics and Breeding.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA) Division, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Govt. of India [grant number ITRA GRANT].