Automatic detection of parturition in pregnant ewes using a three-axis accelerometer

摘要

An on-animal sensor based research tool is currently being developed to support research studies of dystocia in lambing ewes. Given dystocia is associated with a prolonged period of parturition, the tool is being developed with the intention to automatically estimate the duration of parturition using motion data from a 3-axis accelerometer fitted to the ewe. In this study, novel algorithms were proposed to detect the start of parturition for pregnant ewes, post-partum. This is the first step towards the ultimate goal of estimating the parturition duration.