Imaging system and method for body condition evaluation
First Claim
1. A method for optimizing nutrition of an animal, the method comprising automatically monitoring the energy balance of the animal, said monitoring comprising:
- 1) imaging by an imaging sensor a predetermined region of interest on the animal body, and generating data indicative thereof, said region of interest including at least one of the following body parts;
a rear part of a cow in the vicinity of its tail head; and
at least one of the dorsal parts of the cow;
ii) processing the generated data to obtain a three-dimensional representation of the region of interest;
iii) analyzing said three-dimensional representation to determine a predetermined measurable parameter indicative of a surface relief of the region of interest indicative of the energy condition of the animal; and
iv) determining a body condition score (BCS) of the cow.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging method and system are presented for use in automatic monitoring the body condition of an animal A predetermined region of interest on the animal body is imaged, and data indicative of the acquired one or more images is processed to obtain a three-dimensional representation of the region of interest. The three-dimensional representation is analyzed to determine a predetermined measurable parameter indicative of a surface relief of the region of interest which is indicative of the body condition of the imaged animal. The technique of the present invention is useful for determining the energy balance condition of the animal (e.g., dairy cow) or the tendency in the energy balance change, to thereby enable appropriately adjusting nutrition of the specific animal; as well as for determining the existence of in coordination and/or locomotion in the animal'"'"'s natural marching.
49 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for optimizing nutrition of an animal, the method comprising automatically monitoring the energy balance of the animal, said monitoring comprising:
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1) imaging by an imaging sensor a predetermined region of interest on the animal body, and generating data indicative thereof, said region of interest including at least one of the following body parts;
a rear part of a cow in the vicinity of its tail head; and
at least one of the dorsal parts of the cow;ii) processing the generated data to obtain a three-dimensional representation of the region of interest; iii) analyzing said three-dimensional representation to determine a predetermined measurable parameter indicative of a surface relief of the region of interest indicative of the energy condition of the animal; and iv) determining a body condition score (BCS) of the cow. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for monitoring the body condition of an animal, the system comprising:
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(a) an optical device including an illuminating assembly operable to produce structured light in the form of an array of spatially separated light components to thereby illuminate an array of locations within a predetermined region of interest on a body part of the animal, and a light detection assembly operable for acquiring at least one image of the illuminated body part by collecting light scattered therefrom and generating data indicative of the acquired image; (b) a control unit connectable to the optical device, the control unit comprising a memory utility for storing reference data representative of the body condition scales and corresponding values of a predetermined measurable parameter that is indicative of the curvature of the predetermined region of interest; and
a data processing and analyzing utility preprogrammed for processing the data indicative of the acquired image to calculate a value of the measurable parameter for the specific imaged animal, and analyze the calculated value with respect to the reference data to thereby determine the body condition scale of the specific animal,the system being configured for monitoring a body condition score (BCS) of dairy cows, said region of interest including at least one of the following part of the cow'"'"'s body;
at least one of the dorsal parts, and the rear part of the cow in the vicinity of its tail head.- View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification