USA - Tool to measure intramuscular fat could revolutionize pork industry by Biotronics Inc.

A central Iowa company hopes their product can make pork even tastier tomorrow than it is today. Biotronics, Inc. recently introduced the BioSoft© Toolbox for Swine, an ultrasound image capturing and interpretation system. Developers say the software program is the first of its kind to accurately predict the percentage of intramuscular fat, or marbling, in live pigs. In the past 15-20 years, hog farmers have done a great job of breeding pigs that are lean and muscular. One of the tools they've used is ultrasound technology that has allowed them to measure backfat in live animals and select sires that stay lean. But reducing backfat has also led to less marbling, less intramuscular fat. More marbling is needed to keep pork juicy and tasty. “The industry is interested in bringing some of that intramuscular fat back. You don't need high levels, but for consumer acceptability you need to have at least 2.5 percent intramuscular fat in the tissue,” said Doyle Wilson, president of Biotronics. Few breeds today have that level of intramuscular fat tissue, said Wilson. The Berkshire and Duroc breeds come the nearest. Wilson said that using ultrasound technology to measure intramuscular fat will likely be cheaper and easier than conducting carcass tests. “We just scan the breeding stock when they are at a young age - about market weight - and select those that have higher levels of intramuscular fat to produce the next generation of pigs,” said Wilson. Biotronics was founded in Ames, Iowa in 1998. The company develops software products and services to aid in the ultrasound evaluation of body composition and meat quality in live swine and beef cattle, as well as in carcasses. Wilson and Viren Amin, chief scientist at Biotronics, have advanced ultrasound technology use in the beef industry since 1992. “There are many beef technicians that use this tool in the feedlot - as a chute side selection tool to see if the cattle are ready for market or should be held for awhile. It's also used for genetic selection,” said Amin. “We're hoping the swine industry will use this tool in the same way - as a chute side marketing tool and for genetic selection.” The scientist took what they knew about measuring marbling in beef to collect the measurements needed for swine marbling. They developed a mathematical algorithm to quantify the subtle differences in the texture of marbling in swine vs. beef. Biotronics also incorporated some research on measuring marbling in swine completed at Iowa State University. The resulting technology could allow herd managers to select boar studs that are low in back fat but high in intramuscular fat for breeding. The BioSoft Toolbox for Swine technology is packaged with a notebook computer that is attached to the technician's ultrasound machine. The software allows the ultrasound technician to capture the images and measure the intramuscular fat in the loin of the pig. If a technician already has a notebook or a durable laptop computer, the software can be downloaded. Biotronics also offers training programs. The Biotronics staff can show technicians how to correctly capture the image of intramuscular fat and use software to predict this trait, said Wilson. “We are extremely excited about this technology, and we've started getting quite a bit of interest from producers,” said Wilson. “We've been excited about all the work we've done in the beef industry, and now we're just as excited that we're able to provide this same type of technology to the swine industry.”