Reducing non-productive days using ultrasound

19.08.2020

Written by Angela De Mirjyn

If interval between inseminations is a major cause of high non-productive days (NPD’s) on a sow farm, pork producers can look at the use of ultrasound to reduce NPD’s.  Along with targeted heat checks, ultrasounds can promptly identify those females who fail to conceive or to maintain a pregnancy, so we can fit them back into a breeding group or remove them from the herd. 

During my years in production I used ultrasound for “repro” work. I used the little blue metal box, A-mode ultrasound system that “beeps.” I liked it because it had no cables, and used in combination with good heat checking, did the job at over 25 days post-breeding. I also had access to a large B-mode piece that required a cart to be moved around but presented nice and clear images.  

In my sales career I’ve represented an A-mode ultrasound that had the capacity to store data but had too many buttons.  Later, a B-mode piece with a long battery life but with a fragile probe. 

IMV imaging’s Duo-Scan: Go line has the perfect combination of attributes an on-farm swine ultrasound machine should have for repro work; 

• It is a handheld device 
• It has a long battery life.  
• It is completely sealed. 
• It can be submerged for cleaning. 
• Without a wired transducer, there is no risk of the cable being stepped on by a sow or of it getting caught on a stall or fence. 
• The user can choose the viewing device to be a wrist strap or smart eyewear.  
• The device’s companion app saves and manages images and data.

Managing NPD’s on-farm is possible with the right ultrasound.   Check out IMV imaging’s website to find out more about the Duo-Scan: Go and Duo-Scan: Go Plus

The views expressed in IMV Technologies’ blog do not necessarily represent the views of the IMV Technologies Group but solely those of the blog post’s author