New imaging-based technique identifies muscle myopathy
2 April 2024
3 minute learn
Yuzhen Lu, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering assistant professor, is creating a brand new imaging-based technique of figuring out muscle myopathy in poultry manufacturing, in line with a latest press launch from Michigan State College.
In meals methods, shoppers drive most of the adjustments producers make of their manufacturing practices. This alteration will be seen in each meals and animal manufacturing, and poultry manufacturing is not any exception. Breast meat, also referred to as chicken, is mostly thought of more healthy and extra fascinating to shoppers. Producers have been deciding on birds for bigger breasts to get extra meat per chicken. This meets client calls for however has include new challenges.
A type of challenges is the prevalence of muscle myopathy, which is a change in muscle texture that downgrades meat high quality. Muscle myopathy corresponding to woody breast and white striping are having a excessive financial affect on producers. Figuring out muscle myopathy has normally been finished by expert personnel in manufacturing strains throughout processing, which is labor-intensive and subjected to human analysis error. Yuzhen Lu, Ph.D., is a Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering assistant professor and has been creating a brand new imaging-based technique of figuring out muscle myopathy that’s non-destructive, goal, and amenable to automation. The aim is to keep up a high-quality product, present fast and correct identification of the muscle myopathy, whereas offering value financial savings to the poultry processors.
“The poultry processing trade is working on small margins.” mentioned Lu. “This trade has a notoriously excessive labor turnover fee. Processors are beneath mounting strain to scale back labor dependence and prices whereas delivering larger high quality merchandise, to stay aggressive and worthwhile.”
Lu’s focus is the usage of optical imaging know-how and deep studying in Synthetic Intelligence (AI) methods to assist processors establish myopathies and enhance high quality management. Optical imaging know-how makes use of cameras to have a look at the meat for defects. The deep studying side is when the system takes all of the historic data and pictures given to it by builders to be taught to establish muscle myopathy successfully. Because the system identifies extra defects, it’s going to get sooner and extra correct in identification.
“AI fashions are data-hungry and computationally intensive.” mentioned Lu. “However with devoted {hardware} and optimized mannequin architectures, they are often readily used for on-line meat inspection at video body charges.”
Figuring out muscle myopathy in poultry is crucial as a result of the meat is condemned and pulled from the manufacturing line so it isn’t bought by shoppers. Shoppers demand high-quality merchandise when buying in grocery shops and grocery shops won’t purchase from producers which might be sending low-quality merchandise.
Lu’s work on poultry meat imaging was previously funded by USDA-NIFA-AFRI. He’s at present partnering with the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture to develop a light-weight scattering imaging approach for woody breast evaluation.
