Products and Technology

Modern handheld pregnancy diagnosis device for cows

HEARD Systems has developed a novel approach to diagnosing pregnancy in cows and large farm animals via detecting and processing foetal heartbeat signals (patents pending).

Using unique HEARD technology, novice operators can rapidly diagnose pregnancy by placing our device against the cow, whilst traditional methods require cows to be rectally examined by an expert.

The integrated handheld pregnancy diagnosis device is expected to be commercially available in 2010.  We are also assessing opportunities to utilise the technology with fixed-in-place devices.

Competitors

Existing methods of pregnancy diagnosis in cows requires the use of skilled contractors – typically experienced cattle veterinarians who manually palpate and or use ultrasound per rectum.

These traditional methods are invasive for cows, and often disruptive to farm management. Additionally there is a general shortage of cattle veterinarians and skilled ultrasonographers to undertake pregnancy testing at busy times and/or in remote areas.

Other pregnancy testing methods, such as biochemical testing using milk or blood, have been unacceptable to over 99% of farmers due to delays (laboratory testing required), difficulty in getting reliable samples, and high cost.

Why is the HEARD pregnancy diagnosis product superior?

Farmers would like to test all cows for pregnancy - provided the test is accurate, reliable, simple to use, and cost effective. However, no pregnancy testing product has been available for farmers to use on their cows – until now!

By simply placing a handheld HEARD device against the side of the cow, farmers can test (and retest) individual cows or small groups of animals. This means farmers can diagnose pregnancy in cows on demand, rather than having to schedule a costly visit from an expert or forgo testing of single cows.

Farmers can make vital management decisions ‘cow-side’, such as immediately identiying and separating non pregnant cows from the herd.

The HEARD products ensure pregnancy test results are linked to the cow via radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags, to provide an accurate record of pregnancy status. The information then integrates into farm software, and HEARD’s web based system.

Other uses of the technology

The Company has identified other potential uses of our patented technology, including fixed-in-place equipment (such as robotic milking machines, and cattle crushes), and in certain human medical devices.  These opportunities will be investigated as time and resources permit.