Online ultrasonic terminal for measuring pig backfat thickness

Ganghong Zhang, Wanlin Gao, Sha Tao, Lina Yu, Guofeng Zhang, Xuan Luo

Abstract


The measurement of pig backfat thickness (PBFT) has to stand up to challenges with the reliability, accuracy, and convenience. Acquiring PBFT timely and precisely from a finite distance is extremely necessary to improve the process of pig production and implement effective management. In an attempt to alleviate these problems, an online handheld terminal was designed with a new method based on ultrasonic technology for measuring PBFT during the process of pig breeding, which can overcome the difficulties encountered in other destructive means. The terminal comprised three main components: a main microcontroller unit (MCU) to measure PBFT, a RFID module to identify each pig and send data (e.g. identity, measurement time and PBFT) to a server via wireless transmission module, and an ultrasonic transducer to drive and receive signals between them. A measurement error within 0-1 mm was acquired through testing three groups of samples. Results indicated that this handheld terminal had a required accuracy and proved that the ultrasonic wave processing method can be deployed in a mobile terminal for PBFT measurement. It also provided a feasible nondestructive alternative to measure PBFT. Associated with information management software platform, this method may ultimately help pig production farmers measure the PBFT accurately and conveniently, and improve the pig production efficiency.
Keywords: pig backfat thickness, nondestructive measurement, ultrasonic technology, online terminal, pig production
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181102.3278

Citation: Zhang G H, Gao W L, Tao S, Yu L N, Zhang G F, Luo X. Online ultrasonic terminal for measuring pig backfat thickness. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(2): 190–195.

Keywords


pig backfat thickness, nondestructive measurement, ultrasonic technology, online terminal, pig production

Full Text:

PDF

References


Baldassini W A, Chardulo L A L, Silva J A V, Malheiros J M, Dias V A D, Espigolan R, et al. Meat quality traits of Nellore bulls according to different degrees of backfat thickness: a multivariate approach. Animal Production Science, 2016; 57(2): 363–370.

Jong J A D, Derouchey J M, Tokach M D, Goodband R D, Dritz S S, Nelssen J L, et al. Effects of corn particle size, complete diet grinding, and diet form on finishing pig growth performance, caloric efficiency, carcass characteristics, and economics. Kansas State University Swine Day 2012. Report of progress 1074, 2012-10; pp.316–324.

Zambonelli P, Gaffo E, Zappaterra M, Bortoluzzi S, Davoli R. Transcriptional profiling of subcutaneous adipose tissue in Italian large white pigs divergent for backfat thickness. Animal Genetics, 2016; 47(3): 306–323.

Grzes M, Sadkowski S, Rzewuska K, Szydlowski M, Switonski M. Pig fatness in relation to fasn and insig2 genes polymorphism and their transcript level. Molecular Biology Reports, 2016; 43(5): 381–389.

Egea M, Linares M B, Garrido M D, Madrid J, Hernández F. Feeding Iberian duroc cross pigs with crude glycerine: effects of diet and gender on carcass and meat quality. Meat Science, 2016; 111: 78–84.

Roongsitthichai A, ummaruk P. Importance of backfat thickness to reproductive performance in female pigs. Thai Veterinary Medicine, 2014; 44(2): 171–178.

Schwarz T, Turek A, Nowicki J, Tuz R, Rudzki B, Bartlewski P M. Production value and cost-effectiveness of pig fattening using liquid feeding or enzyme-supplemented dry mixes containing rye grain. Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2016; 61(8): 341–350.

Biermann A D, Yin T, Uu K V B, Rübesam K, Kuhn B, König S. From phenotyping towards breeding strategies: using in vivo indicator traits and genetic markers to improve meat quality in an endangered pig breed. Animal, 2015; 9(6): 919–927.

Knecht D, Duziński K, Lisiak D. Accuracy of estimating the technological and economic value of pig car. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 2016; 96(1): 37–44.

Huang Y C, Hong-Jun L I, Qin, G, Wang T. Effect of processing methods and time on intramuscular lipid content and fatty acid composition of pork. Science & Technology of Food Industry, 2012; 33(1): 159–158.

Agamy R, Abdel-Moneim A Y, Abd-Alla M S, Abdel-Mageed I I, Ashmawi G M. Use of ultrasound measurements to predict carcass characteristics of Egyptian ram-lambs. Asian Journal of Animal & Veterinary Advances, 2008; 10(5): 203–214.

Miar Y, Plastow G S, Bruce H L, Moore S S, Durunna O N, Nkrumah J D, et al. Estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters for ultrasound and carcass merit traits in crossbred beef cattle. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 2014; 94(2): 273–280.

Kennedy N, Quinton A E, Martin A, Peek M J, Nanan R. Ultrasound measurement of subcutaneous fat thickness as an independent predictor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2015; 44(S1): 321–321.

Kopinski S, Engel T, Cassel M, Fröhlich K, Mayer F, Carlsohn A. Ultrasound applied to subcutaneous fat tissue measurements in international elite canoeists. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2015; 36(14): 1134–1141.

Peña F, Molina A, Juárez M, Requena F, Avilés C, Santos R, et al. Use of serial ultrasound measures in the study of growth- and breed-related changes of ultrasonic measurements and relationship with carcass measurements in lean cattle breeds. Meat Science, 2014; 96(1): 247–55.

Corona E, García-Pérez J V, Santacatalina J V, Ventanas S, Benedito J. Ultrasonic characterization of pork fat crystallization during cold storage. Journal of Food Science, 2014; 79(5): E828–E838.

Kachanov V K, Sokolov I V, Kontsov R V, Sinitsyn A A, Fedorov M B. Adaptive instruments for ultrasonic nondestructive testing of large objects with complex structures. Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing, 2016; 52(5): 251–260.

Awad T S, Moharram H A, Shaltout O E, Asker D, Youssef M M. Applications of ultrasound in analysis, processing and quality control of food: A review. Food Research International, 2012; 48(2): 410–427.

Pingret D, Fabiano-Tixier A S, Chemat F. Degradation during application of ultrasound in food processing: A review. Food Control, 2013; 31(2): 593–606.

Jin Y Y, Gao W L, Zhang H, An D, Guo S H, Ahmed S I, Liu Y L. Identification of damaged corn seeds using air-coupled ultrasound. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2016; 9(1): 63–70.

Mamou J, Tamura K., Rohrbach D, Yamaguchi T, Franceschini E. Relationship between ultrasound scattering and acoustic impedance maps in sparse and dense random media. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2017; 142(4): 2536–2536.

ARM-based 32-bit MCU STM32F101xx and STM32F103xx firmware library User manual, STMicroelectronics, 2008.

Ferro E, Potorti F. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless protocols: a survey and a comparison. IEEE Wireless Communications, 2005; 12(1): 12–26.




Copyright (c)



2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office