Boehringer Ingelheim launched its proprietary barn monitoring technology, SoundTalks, on Oct. 17. SoundTalks offers swine producers a new tool to help detect and respond to respiratory disease up to five days earlier than conventional methods, the company said in a release.
SoundTalks, an audio-based technology, detects and differentiates coughs from other sounds in a barn environment and quantifies those into a respiratory distress index, Dale Polson, DVM, technical manager for BI’s integrated health systems, diagnostic and monitoring strategic business unit, said in a PorkBusiness.com article after the company acquired a minority stake in the technology in April 2019.
Research presented at the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference shows early detection with SoundTalks has been shown to lead to earlier treatment and recovery, resulting in improved productivity and reduced costs.
The company explained that the new tool uses algorithms and artificial intelligence combined with always-on, in-barn audio monitoring to provide continuous, objective health data that producers and veterinarians can use to prioritize where their attention is needed most.
“Boehringer Ingelheim continues to innovate to create tools for producers to achieve better herd health,” Lara Sheeley, executive director of swine and poultry divisions at Boehringer Ingelheim, said in a release. “Respiratory diseases can be detrimental to a producer’s bottom line, and maintaining and improving herd health in the face of labor shortages is a challenge many producers are grappling with today. SoundTalks can help producers do more with less.”
In addition to labor benefits, Boehringer Ingelheim said the new tool provides access to continuous respiratory health data and helps producers capture return on investment (ROI) through early intervention and increased pig performance. Research indicates early detection of respiratory disease with SoundTalks can lead to increased average daily gain, decreases in individual treatments and an ROI of 4.27 with a range of 2.5-7.9.
“SoundTalks offers an extra set of ears in the barn to not only achieve early detection of respiratory disease, but also automatically send real-time health alerts to key team members, allowing for faster and more effective treatment,” Jens Kjaer, DVM, senior associate director of integrated health management for swine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said in a release.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Swine Cough Monitoring Technology Offers Early Detection and Treatment
