Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD, CONTROL UNIT AND SYSTEM FOR INSEMINATION TIME DETERMINATION
TECHNICAL HELD
This document discloses a method, a control unit and a system. More
particularly, a method
a control unit and a system are described, for assisting a user in determining
insemination
time of an animal.
BACKGROUND
On a dairy farm, it is very important to inseminate animals at an optimal
moment in order to
successfully fertilise the cow, it is important to find the right moment to
inseminate each
individual animal in the farm, for efficiency reasons. In case the animal is
not successfully
inseminated, milk production is affected.
Visual inspection of each animal at the farm made by the farmer, watching for
heat signs, is
time consuming, in particular at big farms where the animals are not tied up.
Therefore, au-
tomatic methods for determining when to inseminate animals at a farm is
desired.
Several methods for heat detection has been elaborated for use in modern dairy
farms,
based on e.g. a progesterone level of a milk sample of the animal, activity
measurements of
the animal, measuring temperature of the animal, detection of mucus discharge,
detection
of swelling and reddening of the vulva, detecting decreased feed intake and
milk yield, de-
tecting standing heat, bulling, by keeping track of each oestrous cycle and
possibly more
heat signs.
These methods may detect a sign of heat, like e.g, progesterone level of the
animal is low,
and ovulation will happen within some time period after this heat sign, with a
certain proba-
bility. It is then recommended to inseminate the animal, e.g. X hours after
the detected neat
sign.
Unfortunately, the time difference between detected low progesterone and
ovulation has big
uncertainty, which depends on the biological process of the animal, age,
health status, en-
ergy balance, breed etc. Also, in case the progesterone is measured during
milking, the
milking interval of the animal influence the time difference.
Consequently, the probability of inseminating the animal in the right time
interval based on
the recommended time is low. The probability is below 40% when progesterone
level of the
animal is measured.
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Typically, manual observations by the farmer are therefore needed in order to
confirm heat
signs of animals. This is however time consuming and it would be desired to
reduce the time
spent on this daily routine, as it multiplies over time.
SUMMARY
It is therefore an object of this invention to solve at least son-le of the
above problems and
facilitate for a user to determine when to inseminate an animal in heat.
According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a
control unit for
assisting a user in determining an insemination time interval of an animal.
The control unit is
configured to obtain a progesterone level of a milk sample of the animal.
Further, the control
unit is configured to detect, at a first moment in time, that the obtained
progesterone level is
lower than a first threshold limit. The control unit is also configured to
obtain an activity level
of the animal. In addition, the control unit is also configured to detect that
the obtained activity
level exceeds a second threshold limit at a second moment in time, within a
predetermined
first time period from the first moment of detecting that the progesterone
level is lower than
the first threshold limit. Furthermore, the control unit is configured to
determine the insemi-
nation time interval of the animal to be a second time period from the moment
of detecting
the activity level exceeding the second threshold limit. The control unit is
configured to gen-
erate a command signal to a user equipment to output information to the user,
comprising
the determined insemination time interval of the animal.
According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a
method exe-
cuted in a control unit for assisting a user in determining an insemination
time interval of an
animal. The method comprises obtaining a progesterone level of a milk sample
of the animal.
The method also comprises detecting, at a first moment in time, that the
obtained progester-
one level is lower than a first threshold limit. Further the method also
comprises obtaining an
activity level of the animal. The method in addition comprises detecting that
the obtained
activity level exceeds a second threshold limit at a second moment in time,
within a prede-
termined first time period from the first moment of detecting that the
progesterone level is
lower than the first threshold limit. The method also comprises determining
the insemination
time interval of the animal to be a second time period from the moment of
detecting the
activity level exceeding the second threshold limit. Furthermore, the method
in addition corn-
prises outputting information to the user, comprising the determined
insemination time inter-
val of the animal.
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According to a third aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a
system for assist-
ing a user in determining an insemination time interval of an animal. The
system comprises
a control unit according to the first aspect. Further the system comprises a
progesterone
measurement unit, configured to obtain a progesterone level of a milk sample
of the animal.
The system in addition comprises an activity measurement unit, configured to
obtain an ac-
tivity level of the animal. In addition, the system also comprises a user
equipment, configured
to output information to the user.
Thanks to the described aspects, by combining the heat signs due to low
progesterone,
which is reliable as a heat sign, but has a broad uncertainty in time, with
heat signs due to
high activity, which when used as the only heat sign leads to many false heat
signs, a more
reliable heat sign is achieved, with reduced uncertainty in time, in
comparison with prior art
methods.
Thereby the probability of successful insemination of the animal is increased,
while the re-
quirement of manual inspection by the farmer for confirming heat signs is
reduced.
Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the
subsequent
detailed description.
FIGURES
Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with
reference to the
accompanying figures, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an example of a system for assisting a human in
detecting an ani-
mal in heat, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates the egg fertilisation process of an animal,
according to an example;
Figure 3A illustrates an example of distribution of probability of
fertilisation after high ac-
tivity detection;
Figure 3B is a histogram illustrating time difference between high
activity detection and
low progesterone detection for animals at Farm A;
Figure 3C is a histogram illustrating time difference between high
activity detection and
low progesterone detection for animals at Farm B;
Figure 3D is a histogram illustrating time difference between high
activity detection and
low progesterone detection for animals at Farm C;
.35 Figure 3E is a histogram illustrating difference between high activity
detection and low
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progesterone detection for animals at Farm ID;
Figure 3F is a histogram illustrating time difference between high
activity detection and
low progesterone detection for animals at Farm E;
Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method;
Figure 5 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a control unit, a
method, and
a system, which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below.
These em-
it) bodiments may, however, be exemplified and realised in many different
forms and are not to
be limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these illustrative
examples of embodi-
ments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.
Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following
detailed description,
is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be
understood, however,
that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as
a definition of
the limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to be
made to the
appended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and,
unless oth-
erwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the
structures and pro-
20 cedures described herein.
Figure 1 illustrates a scenario with an animal 100 which may be comprised in a
herd of
animals at a dairy farm.
25 An activity measurement unit 110 may be attached to the animal 100 in some
embodiments,
e.g. in a necklace around the neck of the animal 100, under the hide of the
animal 100, as
ear tag/-s, around the tail of the animal 100 and/ or around any, some or all
of the legs of the
animal 100.
30 The activity measurement unit 110 may comprise an accelerometer for
detecting and meas-
urement movements of the animal, possibly also a processor for data processing
and a
memory for intermittent data storage, and a transmitter for transmitting
measurement data
to a control unit 120.
'35 The activity measurement unit 110 may comprise a pedometer in some
embodiments. In yet
some other embodiments, the activity measurement unit 110 may be configured to
determine
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the position of the animal 100 and interpret determined changes in position as
movements.
"Animal" may be any arbitrary type of domesticated animal; however, the herein
provided
non-limiting examples primarily relates to milk and/ or meat producing animals
such as cow,
5 goat, sheep, camel, dairy buffalo, yak, etc.
The milk of the animal may pass a progesterone measurement unit 115 e.g.
during regular
milking of the animal; or when taking a sample according to a schedule, or at
any arbitrary
moment in time.
The activity measurement unit 110 and/ or the progesterone measurement unit
115 may emit
wired or wireless signals which may be received by the control unit 120.
The control unit 120 may repeatedly receive information from various sources
and sensors,
including the activity measurement unit 110 and the progesterone measurement
unit 115.
Various measured data associated with the animal 100, and possibly all animals
of the herd
may thus be continuously stored, e.g. with a time stamp, in a database 140,
such as e.g.
milk yields, activity, progesterone level in the milk, rumination, resting,
feed intake, etc. The
control unit 120 may then deduce when the animal 100 is possibly in heat and
prepared for
insemination, as will be further explained later in Figure 2 and the
corresponding text se-
quence.
Further, the control unit 120 is connected to a transceiver 125, configured to
transmit and
receive signals to/ from a User Equipment (UE) 160 which may belong to a human
such as
e.g. a farmer or other person working at a farm; or a veterinarian,
agronomist, dietician, biol-
ogist, zoologist, ecologist, mammologist, domestic animal researcher,
zookeeper or other
similar human, temporarily or permanently visiting the farm. The "farm" as
herein used may
be a barn, a ranch, a stable or other similar agricultural structure for
keeping animals,
The transceiver 125 may in some embodiments transmit and receive signals to/
from the
activity measurement unit 110 and/ or the progesterone measurement unit 115 in
some em-
bodiments, e.g. transmit requests for data samples.
The communication of the transceiver 125 may be made over a wired or wireless
cornmuni-
cation interface,
Such wireless communication interface may comprise, or at least be inspired by
wireless
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6
communication technology such as VVi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN),
Ultra Mo-
bile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT) to name but a few possible examples of
wireless
communications in some embodiments. The communication may alternatively be
made over
a wireless interface comprising, or at feast being inspired by radio access
technologies such
as e.g. 3GPP LIE, LTE-Advanced, E-UTRAN, UMTS, GSM, GSM/ EDGE, WCDMA, Time
Division Multiple Access (TDIVIA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access
(FDMA) net-
works, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDIVIA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)
networks,
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile
Broadband
(UMB), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio
Access (E-
UTRA), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), GSM EDGE Radio Access
Network
(GE RAN), 3GPP2 CDMA technologies, e.g., C01VIA2000 lx RTT and High Rate
Packet Data
(HRPD), or similar, just to mention some few options, via a wireless
communication network.
The UE 150 may be e.g. a cellular mobile telephone, a stationary or portable
computing
device, a pair of intelligent glasses, a smart contact lens, an augmented
reality device, a
smart watch or similar device having a user interface and wireless
communication ability.
When the control unit 120 has determined or calculated when to inseminate the
animal 100
based on obtained progesterone values and activity measurements of the animal
100, a
message may be outputted on the UE 150, e.g. as visual information, as an
audio message,
as a tactile signal or a combination thereof, encouraging the user to prepare
for insemination
of the animal 100 at the recommended time period. In case a plurality of
people is working
in the barn or with the herd, a broadcast may be made to the plurality of
humans/ farmers
and their respective associated UEs.
Possibly, further information may be provided in the message in order to
enable the user to
identify the animal 100, such as a name/ id number, etc.
Figure 2 illustrates a probability distribution of ovulation time 216 for a
population at a farm,
based on a detected low progesterone level,. Also, a probability distribution
of ovulation time
225 for the population at the farm, based on a detected increased activity of
the animal 100.
It may be noted that the spread in time of the probability distribution of
ovulation time 215 for
different individual animals 100 based on the detected low progesterone level
is much
broader than the probability distribution of ovulation time 225, based on a
detected increased
activity. Besides this uncertainty, time resolution in progesterone
measurement is also limited
by the milking interval. The milking interval may vary between a few hours and
up to more
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than 15 hours. As the progesterone is measured during milking, an individual
animal 100
may have a low progesterone level, i.e. a progesterone level lower than a
threshold limit,
right after a milking event. This will however not be detected until the
subsequent milking
event, about perhaps 15 hours later,
Increased activity of the animal 100 is thus a more precise tool for
determining whether the
animal 100 is in heat or not. Activity level of the animal 100 may be sampled
e.g. once every
hour, every half an hour, or more frequently in different embodiments.
le However, increased animal activity may have various other reasons beside
that the animal
100 is in heat. The particular animal 100 may e.g be irritated or aggressive
for some reason
that is not correlated with ovulation, Other reasons for increased activity
may be when the
animal 100 enters a pasture with fresh grass; or when feed is about to be
distributed in the
barn, for example.
Therefore, there may be many false heat detections in case animal activity
alone is meas-
ured and monitored. However, by combining detection of low progesterone level
of the ani-
mal 100, with detected high activity of the animal 100, the more precise
probability distribu-
tion of ovulation time 225 for the population at the farm, based on the
detected increased
activity may be used, leading to increased frequency of successful
fertilisation.
At a certain moment in time 210, it is detected that the progesterone level in
the milk ex-
tracted from the animal 100 is lower than a first threshold limit, related to
progesterone level
in milk. Such moment may also be referred to as a low progesterone heat alerts
210. This
detection of low progesterone level may trigger activity sampling, e.g.
activate the sampling
or sample at an intensified frequency in comparison with previously used
frequency.
Thereby, a moment in time 220 of detecting the activity level exceeding a
second threshold
limit, related to activity of the animal 100 may be detected. Such moment may
also be re-
ferred to as an activity alert 220.
The increased activity of the animal 100 may comprise mounting activity, and/
or attempts to
mount other animals. However, the animal 100 may also be more restless and
alert to the
surroundings when in heat, and spend less time on resting on the ground, than
when not in
heat.
The second threshold limit may be selected based on a compromise between
sensitivity and
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8
specificity of heat detection,
In some embodiments, a time interval between the activity alert 220 and
ovulation may be
assumed to be 21 hours with a standard deviation of 7.8 hours.
However, in order to be relevant for the present method, the moment 220 of
detected in-
creased activity has to occur within a predetermined first time period 240
from the moment
in time 210 when the decreased progesterone level was detected. In case the
moment in
time 220 of detecting increased activity level occur after the predetermined
first time period
240, it is considered invalid, i.e. a false heat sign alert.
It may be mentioned that one in particular reliable heat sign is when the
animal 100, after a
moment of detected high activity, has an activity level that is very low, i.e.
falls below a third
threshold limit. This state of the animal 100 may sometimes be referred to as
standing oes-
16 trus, and this sign may in some embodiments be used to determine the
activity alert 220.
However, when the activity alert 220 is detected within the predetermined
first time period
240 from the moment 210 of decreased progesterone level, the insemination time
interval
230 of the animal 100 is determined to be performed at a second time period
250 from the
moment 220 of detecting the activity level exceeding the second threshold
limit.
The insemination time interval 230 may comprise a first point in time,
initiating the insemina-
tion time interval 230 and a second point in time, closing the insemination
time interval 230.
The first and second points in time may be separated by a time period
corresponding e.g. to
the egg fertile lifetime, which may be estimated to about 10 hours, in some
embodiments.
The first and second points in time may be separated by another time period,
such as a
couple of hours or five hours. The first and second points in time may occur
simultaneously
in yet some other embodiments.
The first and second points in time of the insemination time interval 230 may
be situated
symmetrically around a central point in time 235, situated at the second time
period 250 from
the moment 220 of detecting the activity level exceeding the second threshold
limit, in some
embodiments.
Once the animal 100 has been inseminated at the insemination time interval
230, there will
be a certain sperm travelling time 260 in order to reach the egg of the animal
100. It is thus
desired to determine the insemination time interval 230 so that at least as
big part as possible
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of the probability distribution of ovulation time 225 is situated after the
minimum sperm trav-
elling time 260. The sperm travelling time 260 may be e.g. 8 hours, or there
about, in a non-
limiting example.
Further, sperm viability time 270 time may be about 24-34 hours, according to
some different
studies. It is for that reason obviously desired to plan the insemination time
interval 230 so
that all, or as big part as possible of the probability distribution of
ovulation time 225 is situ-
ated before the sperm viability time 270.
The egg fertile life time may be estimated to about approximately 10 hours, in
some embod-
iments. Ideally, in order to ensure efficient insemination, an over-lap of
sperm viability and
egg fertile life is desired. In some embodiments, such overlap may be e.g. 5
hours, or at least
5 hours.
The time difference between the heat signs 210, 220 and the ovulation may
depend on many
factors: like age of the animal 100, parity, breed, health status, nutrition
status, etc., besides
the biological process in the animal 100. In some embodiments, information
obtained con-
cerning a particular animal 100 of a control system/ herd management system,
like breed,
Days In Milk (DIM), parity, Body Condition Scoring (BCS), and/ or health
records to give a
more accurate recommended insemination time interval 230. Thus, the second
time period
250 from the moment 220 of detecting the activity level exceeding the second
threshold limit
to the insemination time interval 230 may be adjusted based on any, some or
all of the above
enumerated factors in some embodiments.
A model of the herd in the farm, or the individual animal 100 may be used to
achieve an
optimal insemination time interval 230 and optimal time window, based on
various (e.g. two)
parameters of an individual animal 100 in some embodiments. The model may be
used to
give these parameters for the animal 100. The model may optionally be trained
by data from
farms or experiments. These parameters may be estimated by the control unit
120 based on
collected data related to animal activity and progesterone level measurements
and possibly
also other data associated with the identity of the animal 100, such as e.g.
breed, parity,
energy balance, DIM, milk production, BCS, age, shape of a series of
progesterone level
measurements over time, historically used time period 250 between the moment
220 of de-
tecting the increased activity level and the insemination time interval 230,
in some optional
embodiments.
The probability of an ovulated egg is fertilised in the fertilisation window
can be calculated
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as follows:
P(T,s
/ JT-1-3+1:6 civtzg ¨
[1]
where T is the insemination time interval 230, a is the standard deviation of
time difference
between low progesterone heat alert 210 and ovulation (in some embodiments
17.8 hours),
and p is mean time difference between the low progesterone heat alert 210 and
ovulation (in
some embodiments 58 hours).
In case the animal 100 is inseminated at the recommended time interval 230,
the possibility
le of an ovulated egg is fertilised in the fertilisation window is, according
to [1]; P = 34.7%, in
some embodiments.
A similar model as [1j may be used by the control unit 110 for estimating an
optimal time
interval 230 for insemination based on the activity heat alarm 220. The
distribution of time
from the activity heat alarm 220 to the ovulation may be:
1
P(t)
[2]
avZyt
where a is the standard deviation of time difference between activity heat
alarm 220 and
ovulation (in some embodiments 7,8 hours) and p is mean time difference
between activity
heat alarm 220 and ovulation (in some embodiments 21 hours),
Thereby, using the previously made reasoning, the time difference 250 between
the activity
heat alarm 220 and insemination time interval 230 may be set to 10 hours in
some embodi-
ments.
In case the animal 100 is inseminated at the recommended time interval 230,
the possibility
of an ovulated egg is fertilised in the fertilisation window is, according to
[2]: P = 70%, in
some embodiments.
The time interval 230, or time window for insemination may be about 6-14
hours, with a
probability better than 90% of the maximum probability (better than 63%) in
some embodi-
ments.
Thereby, based on the above, one way of combining the heat signs 210, 220,
according to
some embodiments, may be:
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In case the animal 100 gets a low progesterone heat alert 210 which is
confirmed by an
activity heat alert 220 within the predetermined first time period 240, which
may be set to
e.g. 3 days: inseminate the animal 100 at a time interval 230, within the
second time period
250, which may be e.g. 10 hours in some embodiments, from the activity heat
alert 220
In case the animal 100 gets a low progesterone heat alert 210 but no activity
heat alert 220
within the predetermined first time period 240: inseminate the animal 100
about 47 hours
after the low progesterone heat alert 210.
In case the animal 100 gets an activity heat alert 220 but no low progesterone
heat alert 210:
do not inseminate the animal 100.
Figure 3A graphically illustrates probability of successful fertilisation of
an animal 100, at
different moments in time after an activity heat alert 220.
This probability may be calculated by the control unit 120 when a low
progesterone heat alert
210 has been confirmed by the activity heat alert 220, in some embodiments,
and corre-
sponding information may be outputted to the user equipment 150 of the user,
An obvious problem for the farmer is that the determined ideal insemination
time interval 230
of the animal 100 may occur out of regular working hours, such as e.g. 2 AM.
on a Sunday
morning. Even when the insemination time interval 230 is determined to be
within regular
working hours, the farmer may be occupied with other more critical tasks, such
as e.g, re-
trieving cattle on the run, assisting at a delivery, etc.
A relevant question of the farmer in such situation is to determine if it is
any point in insemi-
nating the animal 100 at another point in time, e.g. a later point in time,
than the determined
ideal insemination time interval 230. By providing the probability of
fertilisation to the user,
he/ she is enabled to determine if it is fruitful to inseminate the animal 100
at any different
point in time. It is thereby avoided that semen and also time and working
efforts associated
with insemination activity is wasted on the animal 100 at a time when she with
high probability
is not fertile.
The information may be outputted to the user as a graph, a diagram, a list of
example prob-
ability values, a recommended time span of insemination, or as an interactive
app where the
user may input a suggested time, and may retrieve a probability of successful
fertilisation,
etc.
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Figures 3B-3F illustrates data collected from five different farms, Farm A-
Farm E, all having
an automatic robotic milking system and all of them are collecting activity
data and proges-
terone data of the animals 100.
The collected data at the different farms form statistics forming a base for
developing prob-
ability curves 215, 226, and for determining the second time period 250 and
thereby the
interval for insemination 230.
Table I illustrates a summary of the data collection from the five farms and
Table 2 present
collected statistical data,
Farm A Farm B Farm C Farm D Farm
E
Country Sweden Sweden Holland Holland
Holland
Data since 2014-10-19 2014-10-19 2013-11-03 2015-04-13
2011A 0-23
VMS stations 3 2 2 4 8
Table 1
The data was collected until November 2015.
Farm A Farm B Farm C Farm D Farm E
Number of prog. heat alerts 210 521 691 707 923 2354
Number of activity alerts 220 254 35 302 404 447
Number of 210 + 220 alerts 208 35 302 404 436
Sensitivity of activity alerts 220 60.1% 25.2%
69.6% 46.6% 63.3%
Time difference between prog.
heat alert 210 and activity alerts 38.5 35 40.3 35.9 35.4
220 (h)
Standard deviation of the time
16 14 17 16 16
difference
Number of inseminations 585 379 658 879 1646
Number of insemination without
337 300 427 384 1009
return within 2 months
Number of inseminations with
191 1 100 222 248
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13
activity alerts 220
Number of inseminations with 274 62 456 779 475
activity data
% insem. with activity alert 220 70 2 52 44 53
Number of inseminations with 251 51 75 561 821
prog. heat alerts 210
Number of inseminations with
273 134 313 656 1130
progesterone data
% insem. with prog. alerts 210 92 38 24 86 73
Table 2
The histograms in Figures 3B-3F demonstrate a time difference between a moment
210 of
detecting that the progesterone level is lower than the first threshold limit,
and a moment 220
of detecting activity level exceeding the second threshold limit. Figure 3B
illustrates the time
difference in Farm A, Figure 3C illustrates the time difference in Farm B,
Figure 3D illustrates
the time difference in Farm C, Figure 3E illustrates the time difference in
Farm D, Figure 3F
illustrates the time difference in Farm E.
Based on the collected data from the five farms, the time difference between
heat alert 210
based on low progesterone level and heat alert 220 based on high activity may
be estimated
to: 37 hours: with a standard deviation of 16 hours.
From Table 2 it may be noticed that this number is quite consistent among
farms, It is likely
this time difference is breed dependent, health dependent and/ or parity
dependent. Thus,
an elaborated model based on these parameters may be used to reveal
probability curves
215, 225 with less deviation, in some embodiments.
Defining the time difference between low progesterone heat alert 210 and
activity alert 220
as dT1 and the time interval between activity alert 220 and ovulation as d12,
the time differ-
ence between low progesterone heat alert 210 and ovulation becomes:
dT3 = dT1 -FdT2.
Assuming dT1 and dT2 are independent, the mean value and standard deviation of
dT3 can
be estimated by:
Mean(dT3) = mean(dT1) mean(d12) 58 hours
Std(dT3) = bt.d(ciT1)2 std(dT2), = 17.8 hours
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From the data from the above mentioned 5 farms, the best sensitivity of
activity heat detec-
tion is about 65% using progesterone heat alert 2:10 as reference.
The time difference between the heat alert 210 based on low progesterone level
and ovula-
tion may be estimated to: 58 hours with a standard deviation of 17,8 hours,
A centre point in time of an optimal time interval 230 for insemination, based
on a combina-
tion of heat alert 210 based on low progesterone level and heat alert 220
based on high
activity may be estimated to: 47 hours and 10 hours after respective heat
alert 210, 220,
A model may be used to estimate the probability of the egg ovulates in the
right time interval:
34.7% (based on low progesterone level heat alert 210) and 70% (based on high
activity
heat alert 220). It is estimated that by combining low progesterone level heat
alert 210 and
16 high activity heat alert 220, the probability of determining a correct time
interval 230 for suc-
cessfully inseminating an animal 100 based on sensor information is improved
from 34,7%
to 57.6%. Thereby a 22.9% improvement is achieved.
Figure 4 illustrates an example of a method 400 according to an embodiment.
The flow chart
in Figure 4 shows the method 400 executed in a control unit 120 for assisting
a user in
determining an insemination time interval 230 of an animal 100.
In order to correctly assist the user in determining the insemination time
interval 230, the
method 400 may comprise a number of steps 401-408. However, some of these
steps 401-
26 408 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g,
steps 405 and/ or
step 407. Further, the described steps 401-408 may be performed in a somewhat
different
chronological order than the numbering suggests. The method 400 may comprise
the sub-
sequent steps:
Step 401 comprises obtaining a progesterone level of a milk sample of the
animal 100.
The progesterone level may be measured by a progesterone measurement unit 115
e.g.
during regular milking of the animal, or when taking a sample. Typically,
milking (and thus
also progesterone level sampling) may be made once in early morning and once
in the even-
ing. However, milking intervals may vary between 5 and 15 hours.
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Step 402 comprises detecting, at a first moment in time 210, that the obtained
401 proges-
terone level is lower than a first threshold limit. This first moment in time
210 may also be
referred to as a low progesterone heat alert.
The detection that the progesterone level is lower than the first threshold
limit may trigger
high frequency activity level sampiings of the animal 100 during the
predetermined first time
period 240. Such high frequency activity level samplings may be made e.g.
every hour, every
half an hour, every quarter of an hour, every five minutes, etc.
An advantage with not continuously make high frequency activity level
samplings is that en-
ergy is saved.
Step 403 comprises obtaining an activity level of the animal 100,
As already mentioned above, the activity level measurements may be triggered,
or high fre-
quency activity level samplings may be triggered by the detection 402 of that
the progester-
one level is lower than the first threshold limit.
The activity level of the animal 100 may be measured by an activity
measurement unit 110
of the animal 100 in some embodiments.
Step 404 comprises detecting that the obtained 403 activity level exceeds a
second thresh-
old limit at a second moment in time 220, within a predetermined first time
period 240 from
the first moment 210 of detecting 402 that the progesterone level is lower
than the first thresh-
old limit. This second moment in time 220 may also be referred to as an
activity heat alert.
The second threshold limit may be predetermined or configurable in different
embodiments,
based on statistics related to the animal 100, the herd, the breed, and
similar parameters,
Step 405, which only may be performed in some particular embodiments,
comprises detect-
ing that the obtained 403 activity level after having exceeded the second
threshold limit, falls
below a third threshold limit.
In some such embodiments, this moment 220 may be determined to be the second
moment
in tirne 220, or activity heat alert, which confirms the ovulation of the
animal 100,
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WO 2018/111179 16 PCT/SE2017/051255
When the activity of the animal 100 falls below the third threshold limit, the
animal 100 be-
comes very passive and stands to be mounted by other animals. This is often
referred to as
standing heat and may be regarded as a reliable heat sign.
Step 406 comprises determining the insemination time interval 230 of the
animal 100, or a
central point in time 235 of the insemination time interval 230, to be
situated at a second time
period 250 from the moment 220 of detecting 404 the activity level exceeding
the second
threshold limit.
The second time period 250 may be determined based on at least one animal
status related
parameter in some embodiments.
The animal status related parameter may comprise any, some or all of e.g.:
breed, parity,
energy balance, Days In Milk, milk production, Body Condition Scoring, age,
shape of a se-
ries of progesterone level measurements overtime, and! or historically used
time period 250
between the moment 220 of detecting the increased activity level and the
insemination time
interval 230.
Step 407, which only may be performed in some particular embodiments,
comprises calcu-
lating a probability of successful insemination of the animal 100 at different
moments in time
within a time interval comprising the determined 406 second time period 250.
The user thereby becomes aware of probabilities of successful fertilisation of
the animal 100
in cases when insemination cannot be made at the determined 406 insemination
time interval
230, but eventually may be made earlier/ later.
Step 408 comprises outputting information to the user, comprising the
determined 406 in-
semination time interval 230 of the animal 100, together with an
identification of the animal
100.
The user thereby becomes aware about when in time to inseminate the animal
100.
In some alternative embodiments, the indication may be outputted on the user
equipment
150 i.e. by an audio signal, a voice message, a tactile signal, a visual
message on the dis-
play, or a combination thereof.
In some embodiments, the information outputted to the user may comprise the
calculated
CA 03073927 2020-02-25
WO 2018/111179 17 PCT/SE2017/051255
407 probability of successful insemination of the animal 100 at different
moments in time in
a time interval.
Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system 600 for assisting a user in
determining an
insemination time interval 230 of an animal 100.
The system 600 comprises a control unit 120. The control unit 120 is
configured to perform
at least some of the previously described steps 401-408 according to the
method 400 de-
scribed above and illustrated in Figure 4, The control unit 120 is thereby
configured to detain
a progesterone level of a milk sample of the animal 100. The control unit 120
is further con-
figured to detect, at a first moment in time 210, that the obtained
progesterone level is lower
than a first threshold limit. Also, the control unit 120 is configured to
obtain an activity level
of the animal 100. In addition, the control unit 120 is configured to detect
that the obtained
activity level exceeds a second threshold limit at a second moment in time
220, within a
predetermined first time period 240 from the first moment 210 of detecting
that the proges-
terone level is lower than the first threshold limit. The control unit is
furthermore configured
to determine the insemination time interval 230 of the animal 100 to be a
second time period
250 from the moment 220 of detecting the activity level exceeding the second
threshold limit.
In further addition, the control unit is also configured to generate a command
signal to a user
equipment 150 to output information to the user, comprising the determined
insemination
time interval 230 of the animal 100.
The control unit 120 may be further configured to trigger high frequency
activity level sam-
plings of the animal 100 during the predetermined first time period 240, when
it is detected
that the progesterone level is lower than the first threshold limit.
Also, in some embodiments, the control unit 120 may be configured to detect
that the ob-
tained activity level after having exceeded the second threshold limit, falls
below a third
threshold limit. The second time period 250 may be determined based on at
least one animal
3o status related parameter, such as e,g. breed, parity, energy balance, Days
In Milk, milk pro-
duction, Body Condition Scoring, age, shape of a series of progesterone level
measurements
over time, historically used time period 250 between the moment 220 of
detecting the in-
creased activity level and the insemination time interval 230,
The control unit 120 may also be configured to calculate a probability of
successful insemi-
nation of the animal 100 at different moments in time within a time interval
comprising the
determined second time period 250, in some embodiments. Further, the control
unit 120 may
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WO 2018/111179 18 PCT/SE2017/051255
be configured to output information to the user further comprising the
calculated probability
of successful insemination of the animal 100 at different moments in time in
the time interval.
The system 500 further comprises a progesterone measurement unit 115,
configured to ob-
thin a progesterone level of a milk sample of the animal 100.
The system 500 also comprises an activity measurement unit 110, configured to
obtain an
activity level of the animal 100.
le The system 500 comprises a user equipment 150, configured to output
information to the
user, such as e.g. a cellular telephone or similar communication device.
The system 500 may in some embodiments also comprise a database 140,
configured to
store animal status related parameters.
The control unit 120 may comprise a receiver 510 configured to receive
information from the
transceiver 125, from the activity meter 110 and/ or from the progesterone
measurement unit
116.
The control unit 120 also comprises a processing circuit 520 configured for
performing vari-
ous calculations for conducting the method 400 according to at least some of
the previously
described steps 401-408.
Such processing circuit 520 may comprise one or more instances of a processing
circuit, i.e.
a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a
processor, an
Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other
processing logic
that may interpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression
'processor may
thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing
circuits, such as,
e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.
Furthermore, the control unit 120 may comprise a memory 525 in some
embodiments. The
optional memory 525 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data or
programs, i,e,,.
sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According to
some embodi-
ments, the memory 525 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon-
based transis-
tors. The memory 526 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, a USB
memory,
a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for
storing data such as
e.g. ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM
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WO 2018/111179 19 PCT/SE2017/051255
(Erasable PROM). EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), etc. in different
embodiments.
Further, the control unit 120 may comprise a signal transmitter 530. The
signal transmitter
530 may be configured for transmitting signals via a wired or wireless
communication inter-
face to the transceiver 125 and/ or the database 140.
However, in some alternative embodiments, the system 500 may comprise
additional units
for performing the method 500 according to steps 401-408.
The above described steps 401-408 to be performed in the control unit 120 may
be imple-
mented through the one or more processing circuits 520 within the control unit
120, together
with a computer program for performing at least some of the functions of the
steps 401-408.
Thus, the computer program comprises instructions which, when the computer
program is
executed by the control unit 120 in the system 500, cause the control unit 120
to carry out
the method 400 according to at least some of steps 401-408.
The computer program mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form
of a com-
puter-readable medium, i.e. a data carrier carrying computer program code for
performing at
least some of the steps 401-408 according to some embodiments when being
loaded into
the one or more processing circuits 520 of the control unit 120. The data
carrier may be, e.g.,
a hard disk, a CD ROM disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a
magnetic storage
device or any other appropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold
machine read-
able data in a non-transitory manner. The computer program may furthermore be
provided
as computer program code on a server and downloaded to the control unit 120
remotely,
e.g. over an Internet or an Intranet connection.
The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in
the accompa-
nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described method 400; the
control unit
120; the computer program; the system 500 and/ or the computer-readable
medium. Various
3.0 changes, substitutions and/ or alterations may be made, without departing
from invention
embodiments as defined by the appended claims.
As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one
or more of the
associated listed items. The term "or" as used herein, is to be interpreted as
a mathematical
36 OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR
(X0R), unless ex-
pressly stated otherwise. In addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and 'the"
are to be inter-
preted as at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities
of the same kind,
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WO 2018/111179 20 PCT/SE2017/051255
unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the
terms "includes",
"comprises", "including" and/ or "comprising', specifies the presence of
stated features, ac-
tions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/ or components, but do not
preclude the
presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps,
operations, ele-
ments, components, and/ or groups thereof. A single unit such as e,g, a
processor may fulfil
the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that
certain measures or
features are recited in mutually different dependent claims, illustrated in
different figures or
discussed in conjunction with different embodiments does not indicate that a
combination of
these measures or features cannot be used to advantage, A computer program may
be
stored/ distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or
a solid-state
medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be
distributed in
other forms such as via Internet or other wired or wireless communication
system.
