Mechanical overburdening is a major risk factor that provokes non-infectious claw diseases.
Moreover, lameness-causing lesions often remain undetected and untreated. Therefore, prevention
of claw tissue overburdening is of interest, especially by analyzing harmful effects within dairy cows’
housing environment. However, objective “on-cow” methods for bovine gait analysis are underdevel-
oped. The purpose of the study was to apply an innovative mobile pressure sensor system attached
at the claws to perform pedobarometric gait analysis. A further goal was the supplementation with
accelerative data, generated simultaneously by use of two inertial measurement units (IMUs), attached
at metatarsal level. IMU data were analyzed with an automatic step detection algorithm. Gait analysis
was performed in ten dairy cows, walking and trotting on concrete flooring and rubber mats. In addition
to the basic applicability of the sensor systems and with the aid of the automatic step detection algorithm
for gait analysis in cows, we were able to determine the impact of the gait and flooring type on kinematic
and kinetic parameters. For pressure sensor output, concrete was associated with significantly (p < 0.001)
higher maximum and average pressure values and a significantly smaller contact area, compared to
rubber mats. In contrast to walking, trotting led to a significantly higher force, especially under the
medial claw. Further, IMU-derived parameters were significantly influenced by the gait. The described
sensor systems are useful tools for detailed gait analysis in dairy cows. They allow the investigation of actors which may affect claw health negatively.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:90341 |
| Date | 06 March 2024 |
| Creators | Fischer, Daniela, Friebel, Luise I. G., Grund, Sarah, Winter, William, Wagner, Franziska C., Mülling, Christoph K. W. |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 2076-2615, 10.3390/ani12182457 |
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