SBIR-STTR Award

Bovine Respiratory Disease is the most common illness among cattle arriving at feedlots and results in decreased weight gain, lower quality meat and death. BRD is highly transmittable and costs cattlemen more than all other diseases combined. A rapid and sensitive diagnostic method for BRD is not currently available. This project will utilize a state-of-art biomedical breath analysis sensor to assess the respiratory health of cattle. Our goal is to develop a method for identifying sick cattle on the basis of a known exhaled immune system biomarker. OBJECTIVES: This project will determine the feasibility of measuring nitric oxide in expired breath of cattle to diagnose and monitor Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). We will develop and test a prototype breath collection device and determine optimal methods for achieving reproducible measurements of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in cattle. We will determine eNO response in calves experimentally or naturally challenged with respiratory pathogens and compare eNO concentration with other known measures of respiratory disease. APPROACH: The Breathmeter, developed by scientists and engineers at Ekips Technologies, is a laser-based breath sensor designed to quantify eNO concentration for assessing lower airway inflammation. Ekips has already developed a sensitive and rapid eNO breath test for children and adults. We will modify this technology for use in cattle and confirm that eNO response is an indicator of respiratory inflammation associated with BRD. We hypothesize that eNO can improve the diagnosis of BRD by providing instant results in the field that will allow efficient quarantining of sick animals, thus decreasing cross-infection rates

Bovine Respiratory Disease is the most costly disease among cattle arriving at feedlots and results in decreased weight gain, lower quality meat and death. BRD is highly transmittable and a rapid and sensitive diagnostic method for BRD is not currently available. This project will validate a state-of-art biomedical breath analysis sensor to assess the respiratory health of cattle. Our goal is to improve management of cattle by providing an immediate, objective measurement of respiratory health. OBJECTIVES: This project will test the validity of measuring an exhaled biomarker in bovine breath as a method of assessing respiratory health. Phase I work has established the technical merit and feasibility of breath testing bovine. During Phase II, we will 1) increase instrument sensitivity and improve breath testing methods, 2) validate Phase I results in calves infected and treated for BRD, 3) establish that biomarker monitoring can improve management of cattle during the feeding period, and 4) demonstrate the clinical capability of our technology by implementing our testing procedure into a commercial feedlot setting. APPROACH: The Breathmeter, developed by scientists and engineers at Ekips Technologies, is a laser-based breath sensor designed to quantify biomarkers in breath. Ekips has developed a sensitive and rapid platform instrument for the analysis of exhaled breath biomarkers. Ekips has demonstrated the use of this instrument for the analysis exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) in children and adults, and has demonstrated the successful measurement of eNO in cattle as an indicator of respiratory inflammation associated with BRD. A unique advantage of our technology is the simultaneous measurement of carbon dioxide which enables a direct determination of eNO concentration regardless of exhalation flow rate, a critical advantage in animal breath testing. We will continue to adapt our technology for use in cattle by improving instrument performance and sensitivity, improving breath testing technique, and eliminating affects of ambient nitric oxide