New system can check dietary health of cattle

A new interactive cattle bolus sensor and reader has been developed to help livestock farmers analyse the dietary health of their animals.

Edinburgh-based Well Cow was awarded a £96,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise to progress its cattle healthcare technology to commercialisation.

The firm produces a bolus sensor which transmits pH and temperature readings from the cow’s rumen to a hand-held reader.

By using the latest radio technologies, the companies have managed to increase the sensitivity of the bolus to the reader transceiver.

Well Cow is a subsidiary of the Roslin Foundation.

It was set up to provide a vehicle to introduce new technology to animal health monitoring.