Automatic detection of oestrus cows via breath sampling with an electronic nose: A pilot study

To explore the possibility of automating the process of detecting oestrus cows via electronic olfaction, we designed and built an integrated measurement system consisting of a breath sample device, electronic nose, and a diagnosis model. The diagnosis performance, using a data set of 71 measurements on 52 cows in total, was a receiver operating characteristic curve with an area under the curve of 0.86, which had 83% sensitivity and 86% specificity for a specifically chosen threshold value. These results indicate a potential for automated detection based on breath sampling.