Development of a smart bolus system for multi-parameter monitoring of bovine welfare
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Date
2025
Authors
Ferreira, Ana Cláudia
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University College Cork
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Abstract
The dairy industry is a growing sector of global agriculture, with a projected market value of US$1,243 billion by 2028. However, its rapid growth brings challenges, including the need for sustainable practices, improved animal welfare, and enhanced productivity. Effective livestock health monitoring is at the core of these challenges, which is critical for ensuring animal well-being, minimising economic losses, and reducing environmental impacts. Despite advances in monitoring tools like wearable devices and smart boluses, current technologies are limited in providing comprehensive, real-time insights into bovine welfare. This research addressed that gap in currently available technologies, by developing a prototype PULSE (Portable Unit for Lab-on-Site Electrochemistry) system. This is a novel, multi-parametric embedded system, including electrochemical capabilities, for real-time monitoring in precision livestock farming. By designing and refining PULSE and its second-generation version, PULSE 2.0, this study explored advanced sensor technology and embedded systems for future facilitation of early disease detection.
The first-generation PULSE prototype represented a significant advancement in livestock health monitoring, incorporating multiple sensors, including temperature and acceleration sensors, as well as a selection of electrochemical sensors for measuring pH, nitrate, and nitrite. These parameters are important analytes that provide insights into the animal’s health, while also having an indirect connection to livestock greenhouse gas emissions. The multi-parametric design of the device advances the state-of-the-art in bovine health monitoring and commercial potentiostat technologies by providing a fully customised platform capable of measuring both electrochemical and physical parameters. Tailored analog front-end circuitry was developed to accurately perform electrochemical techniques, including open-circuit potentiometry, chronoamperometry, and cyclic voltammetry. These techniques are widely used and enable rapid and sensitive detection of the target analytes. Validation experiments, which benchmarked the device’s capabilities against standard laboratory benchtop instruments, demonstrated correlation coefficients exceeding 0.99 for pH, nitrate, and nitrite measurements. This strong agreement highlighted the device’s accuracy in matching the measurements of standard instruments. The PULSE enabled rapid pH detection via potentiometry, achieving a response time of 2 seconds. Additionally, the pH calibration curve followed a Nernstian behaviour with a slope of -60.43 mV/pH, establishing the developed system as a promising tool for point-of-care applications. This work highlighted the device’s operational versatility and customisation potential, allowing tailored configurations to meet the specific requirements of sensors and applications. The PULSE device demonstrated its potential to enhance the speed and quality of measurements, and reduce associated costs and energy consumption.
The device was tested in a complex ruminal fluid environment, maintaining an accuracy of 98.9% for pH over a period exceeding 42 days, showcasing its robustness for real-world applications. While these results are promising, further investigation is required to fully characterise the long-term durability of the sensors in this environment. The system demonstrated a sensitivity of 1.92 µA/ppm/cm2 and a Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.335 mM for nitrate, while for nitrite, it achieved a sensitivity of 6.32 µA/ppm/cm2 and a LOD of 0.854 mM. These results, along with the high correlation between the systems, highlighted the relevance and potential use of PULSE for animal health monitoring. Furthermore, the integration of both commercial and proprietary in-house sensors expanded its functionality as a point-of-care device for a wide range of monitoring applications.
Building on the first prototype, PULSE 2.0 enhanced functionality through miniaturisation, portability, and sensing capabilities. Designed for field deployment, PULSE 2.0 integrated Bluetooth 2.0 communication, a rechargeable lithium ion battery, and a user-friendly Android application, enhancing its accessibility for agricultural settings. Its extended sensing parameters included sodium and potassium, selected as demonstrators due to their critical role in monitoring electrolyte balance in ruminal health. Investigation in ruminal fluid demonstrated high accuracy, including 99.88% for pH, 99% for sodium, and 99.02% for potassium. These results highlighted the novelty of PULSE 2.0 by differentiating it from the current state of the art through its tailored operational range, multiple sensing capabilities, and integrated sensors. This established the PULSE 2.0 as a novel point-of-care system adapted specifically for real-time electrochemical analysis of key parameters in rumen fluid. The PULSE 2.0 system demonstrated its potential as a highly versatile sensor platform, which can be adapted in form factor and functionality for future portable or implantable devices. It is part of an overall advanced precision livestock monitoring system to enable data-driven decision-making solutions.
These advancements positioned PULSE 2.0 as a transformative device for continuous livestock health monitoring, improving disease management, herd productivity, and environmental sustainability. In the future, its modular design could extend its application to human health, aquaculture, and industrial monitoring. This work represented a significant milestone in embedded systems for electrochemical sensing, highlighting its pioneering contributions to precision agriculture and multi-sensor technology.
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Keywords
Bovine , Health monitoring , Potentiostat , Electronics , Electrochemistry
Citation
Ferreira, A. C. 2025. Development of a smart bolus system for multi-parameter monitoring of bovine welfare. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.