Infrared Technology Can Save Time and Detect Sick Sows Earlier

Obtaining rectal temperatures on sow farms is very time consuming and because of that, Kaci Way, a DVM student at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, said it can often drop in priority on the farm’s to-do list.

She decided to study if infrared technology could help by revealing quicker and more simplified locations to ascertain body temperatures. 

“My research revealed that infrared thermometers can be used to obtain rectal temperatures at the perineal location when using a Braun® No Touch & Forehead Thermometer,” Way said during Clinical Cases and Problem-Solving Skills by DVM Students at the 2022 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference.

Touchless Versus Touch
Her study also revealed when looking at rectal temperatures between 100 and 103° Fahrenheit, the relationship between touch perineal and touchless perineal temperatures is nearly linear with an R2 of 0.51 and a correlation of 0.79. 

“On average, perineal temperatures were 0.75 degrees Fahrenheit lower than rectal temperature readings. Rectal temperature can be estimated by adding 0.75 degrees Fahrenheit to perineal temperature readings,” she said. 

She also developed a formula to use to obtain a more precise reading, converting infrared contactless temperature to rectal temperature: (contactless perineal, °F + 24.01)/1.23

This chart simplifies the formula, Way explained.  (“Touch Perineal = “Rectal”)

Detect Sick Sows Sooner
“Infrared technology can be utilized on sow farms,” Way emphasized. “It offers quicker and more efficient temperature readings, and by obtaining rectal temperatures, it can help us detect sick sows earlier. By treating these sows early on, it can prevent illness to the sow and the litter it nurses.”

Way’s study also revealed that fevers in sows at 24 hours and 48 hours are strongly correlated. She said this means if a sow has a fever at 24 hours, she will most likely have one at 48 hours. If a sow does not have a fever at 24 hours, she will likely not have one at 48 hours. Because of this, obtaining one temperature at 24 hours would be sufficient, and for this study, she said you would not have to take one at 48 hours. 

She shared an example of the improved efficiency of infrared thermometer usage. 

“On an average 5,000-sow unit, I would spend 3.5 hours a week obtaining rectal temperatures for sows at 24 hours, or 7 hours per week if I temped sows twice (at 24 hours and 48 hours),” Way said. “With the contactless perineal infrared thermometer, I would only spend 33 minutes a week obtaining temperatures at 24 hours or 66 minutes per week by collecting a temperature twice.”

This correlates to an 84% reduction in time, she pointed out. However, like all studies, there are some limitations. Way said the main one is that these thermometers need to be cleaned after use and stored in a case, as they are not very hardy on farms. 

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