Patent ID: 11857347
Assignee: nan
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 14:
15. Apparatus for monitoring nutrition and fermentation in a liquor in a rumen or in a reticulum of a ruminant, wherein the apparatus is designed to be orally applied to the ruminant, reticulum, or both the ruminant and reticulum and to stay permanently and in direct contact with the rumen liquid, reticulum liquid, or both the rumen and reticulum liquid, wherein the apparatus comprises at least:
a) at least one sensing unit for sensing a characteristic value of dissolved carbon dioxide in the liquor of rumen, reticulum, or both rumen and reticulum; and
b) at least one first communication unit for wireless communication of data with a respective second communication unit outside the ruminant,
wherein the at least one sensing unit includes at least one attenuated total reflectance (ATR) sensor to directly monitor the concentration and evolution of dissolved carbon dioxide and correspondingly to monitor carbon dioxide holdup in the liquor of the rumen,
wherein the at least one sensing unit further comprises a light source emitting light, wherein a light channel is provided that leads light generated by the light source into a prism of the at least one attenuated total reflectance sensor, said prism having a higher refractive index than rumen liquid, reticulum liquid, or both rumen and reticulum liquid, wherein the prism of the at least one attenuated total reflectance sensor is capable of being in direct contact with the rumen liquid, reticulum liquid, or both rumen and reticulum liquid, and
wherein the apparatus comprises a hermetic casing that provides protection from an outside environment, wherein the hermetic casing is made at least in part from stainless steel with a specific gravity greater than 2.3 g/cm3 to keep the apparatus on the rumen and the reticulum liquid, wherein the at least one sensing unit further has the capacity of self-calibration and comprises a battery and an energy harvester used to increase battery lifetime by harvesting the small energy generated by rumen peristaltic movements and cattle motion.