Process for determining a tissue composition characteristic of an animal
US6123451A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 16, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 26, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 16, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N33/12
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A process for determining a tissue composition characteristic of a live animal or carcass involves the steps of: (a) obtaining either or both of at least one infrared thermographic image of the animal while it is alive, taken from at least one view, or at least one image of the carcass of the animal after slaughter, taken from at least one view, each thermographic image being capable of being represented as an array of pixels providing temperature data representative of temperature information at the corresponding part of the image; (b) calculating the value of at least one statistical measure of the temperature data for each thermographic image; (c) providing a predictive model wherein the tissue composition characteristic is included as an output variable, and the statistical measures of temperature data for each thermographic image are included as input variables; and (d) solving the predictive model to provide the value of the tissue composition characteristic. The process of the invention is useful in a wide variety of homoeotherinic animals. Tissue composition characteristics of interest include, without limitation, lean body mass, grade, carcass yield and rib eye area. An ap…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.