Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** real-time ultrasound technology…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** real-time ultrasound technology is a proven tool for measuring body composition and quality traits in live animals and carcasses. Biotronics has developed and commercialized technology that uses ultrasound scans for measuring backfat, muscle depth and intramuscular FAT (%IMF) in its products, biosoft toolbox® for live swine and bioqscan® for large pork packers at line speeds of 1,200+ carcasses per hour. A recent unique opportunity exists with small packers showing interest in biotronics' packing plant technology to meet their market demands for high quality pork. The project will address mppri priority area 1, monitoring and improving complex processes. For smaller packers to use the biotronics' technology, its size and cost must be reduced, the process must be streamlined, and permanent changes needed for the plant installation must be minimal. The overall goal of this project is to apply and optimize biotronics' technology for small and mid-size packers. Objectives and related tasks are to reduce components and streamline software, while maintaining accurate and repeatable measurements; validate online scanning and processing of carcasses for backfat and %IMF at a cooperating small plant; install a compact prototype system; and train plant operators for scanning and maintenance procedures. Project deliverables include a prototype system designed for small and mid-size packers to sort carcasses meeting quality standards for increased revenue markets, and demonstrations of the prototype to other packers. Additional opportunities could be a custom scanning service for small and mid-size packers, an assessment of pork belly depth, and assessment of other species.