Boehringer Ingelheim has launched a device developed to detect respiratory diseases in pigs up to five days sooner than conventional methods.
The animal health company’s SoundTalks device, available across the UK and Ireland, is built on years of real farm sound data and harnesses artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Through early intervention, the company said the device has been shown to potentially reduce antibiotic usage and decrease mortality rates, supporting farmers in a challenging industry whilst also yielding a positive monthly return on investment.
With its 24/7 monitoring capabilities, farmers gain access to real-time data from anywhere, alleviating the need for constant observation and providing peace of mind.
Each SoundTalks device covers up to a 10-metre radius and has a microphone that ‘listens’ to the pigs, and humidity and temperature sensors. The monitors transmit the pig noises to the Gateway, which links to the cloud where sounds are analysed.
Listening and monitoring devices are not new in the animal health industry, but Boehringer said SoundTalks is unique due to the years of data that were used to build the algorithms that the device uses to compare and detect coughs, and that the system is continually ‘learning’.
The sound data is translated into a respiratory health score, which is inversely related to the risk of morbidity and mortality, and visualised in an online dashboard and mobile app. The monitors themselves also signal the respiratory health status of the pigs and alert anomalies with a traffic-light system, helping farmers identify and focus attention on the right groups of pigs sooner.
Boehringer said this enables farmers to take action quicker and minimises the impact on farm productivity, which has been shown to reduce as soon as the disease progresses throughout the herd.
With 5-day earlier intervention and improved overall health among livestock, installation of SoundTalks has been shown to result in an increase of 12.7g average daily gain and decreased mortality rates, the company said.
Richard Riley, production director at Yorkwold Pigpro Ltd said “We are always keen to adopt an innovation that supports animal welfare.
“The data from SoundTalks provides us with the confidence that this technology can help us to identify, investigate, and take action to address potential health issues with our pigs. We strive to continuously lower antibiotic use and SoundTalks could help us to do this and in turn have benefits in growth rates and mortality for our pigs.”
Paul Thompson, a vet at Garth Pig Practice said “The earlier we can detect the onset of disease the quicker we can intervene. By taking action earlier we can aim to reduce morbidity and mortality, and potentially lessen treatments including antibiotic use.
“Having heard how SoundTalks is already transforming the practices of producers and vets in other parts of Europe, I am excited to use it in my own day-to-day role.”
Findlay MacBean, Head of Livestock, Boehringer Ingelheim UK and Ireland said: “Through tools like SoundTalks, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to creating innovative solutions that enable farmers to predict, prevent and treat animal health conditions, helping them to achieve more.”
SoundTalks has already been recognised for its groundbreaking impact, achieving gold status for both the Innovation and Animal Welfare categories at the EuroTier awards.