Accelerometer-based system for the detection of lameness in horses.

The research article presents a study on the development of a system using accelerometers and gyroscopes to reliably detect and measure lameness in horses. The system allows for application in both treadmill-based and free-moving environments, improving on the limitations of video-based analysis.

Objective of the research

• The main aim for this research was to improve upon previous video-based methods used to detect and quantify lameness in horses. These methods were found to be effective, but had inherent limitations in terms of the field-of-view of the camera, which required horses to be constrained to move on a treadmill.

Methodology

• Instead of video-based analysis, the researchers adopted an accelerometer-based system which also incorporated gyroscopic transducers, with two single-axis accelerometers and two gyroscopic transducers deployed for this study.
• The vertical head and pelvic acceleration in horses were collected and converted into displacement data. This data, along with previously developed algorithms, was used to quantify the lameness in the horses.
• The specific limb affected by lameness was determined by correlating the head and pelvic signals with the gyroscopic signals from the right forelimb and hindlimb feet.
• The signals from the four transducers were relayed at a frequency of 200Hz and collected on a laptop computer, therefore freeing the horse from the constraints of a treadmill laboratory setting.

Results and Analysis

• The accelerometer-based system developed for this study was tested on horses with induced lameness. The system was found to be reliable both while trotting on a treadmill and when freely moving outdoors.
• The new system provided a significant improvement over traditional video-based analysis, as it overcame the primary constraint of requiring the horse to move on a treadmill, hence permitting assessments in more natural and diverse settings.