Infrared thermography of the udder surface of dairy cattle: Characteristics, methods, and correlation with rectal temperature

Thermograms of the caudal udder surface were taken of five healthy cows before and after inoculation of Escherichia coli into the right hind quarter. Images in clinically normal udder quarters from cows without fever (CN) were compared with those post inoculation when cows had fever (⩾39.5 °C) and showed elevation of somatic cell counts (⩾400,000 cells/mL) in the inoculated quarter (CM). Using graphic software tools, different geometric analysis tools (GATs: polygons, rectangles, lines) were set within the thermographic images. The following descriptive parameters (DPs) were employed: minimum value ('min'), maximum value ('max'), range ('max-min'), and arithmetic mean ('am').Surface temperatures in group CN were between 34.1 °C ('polygons'/'min') and 37.9 °C ('polygons'/'max'), and in group CM between 34.5 °C ('polygons'/'min') and 40.0 °C ('polygons'/'max'). The greatest differences in the temperatures between CN and CM (2.06 °C) were found in 'polygons' and 'rectangles' using 'max'. The smallest coefficient of variation in triplicate determinations was found in GAT 'polygons' with DP 'max' (Tmax) (0.15%), and the relationship to the rectal body temperature (Tr) could be described by Tr = 5.68 + 0.874 * Tmax. The results show that significant changes can be displayed best using the GAT 'polygons' and the DP 'max'. These methods should be considered for automated monitoring of udder health in dairy cows.