New innovative eye scan technology can detect bTB in livestock

New innovative eye scan technology can detect bTB in livestock

A researcher at a Scottish university is developing new AI technology that can detect bovine tuberculosis (bTB) by simply scanning the animal’s eye.

As the scourge of bTB continues to destroy thousands of cattle worldwide, desperate previous attempts to try and stamp out the disease by governments have failed.

Millions of pounds in compensation is being paid to farmers in the UK each year, whose cattle have had to be destroyed after bTB was detected in them.

However, fresh hopes of tackling the disease lie on the shoulders of researcher Michaela Thorne from the University of Edinburgh, and her AI for the Eye technology.

Farmers could screen cattle for bTB more quickly using this artificial intelligence which examines images of the eye for signs of disease.

Aptly named, AI for the Eye is an early-stage project developed by Thorne, and was named runner-up in the KickStart Challenge at the Converge Awards for technology being explored as a way to provide rapid, non-invasive screening directly on farms.

The system is being developed in response to bTB, which costs the UK more than £130 million annually and is currently moni...