Non-Invasive Acoustic Myography for Measurement of Rumen Contractions

Author(s): Søndergaard Nissen RJ, Harrison AP

This study used a wireless acoustic myography device (SOFi M2 unit) that recorded high-quality rumen sound waves from cows in real time in a transdermal non-invasive fashion. Recordings reveal both extraneous and intrinsic sounds related to bolus movement in the oesophagus, m.Cutaneous trunci contractions in response to flies, contractions of the reticulum as well as contractions from the dorsal and ventral sacs. Details such as the timing of events in the rumen in relation to bolus movement in the oesophagus are presented as are gas bubble sounds from the paralumbar fossa as gas is displaced from the ventral blind sac at the end of an A-wave sequence. These detailed recordings will be of interest for students of veterinary medicine, and fully qualified veterinarians alike as an educational and diagnostic tool in connection with rumen motility.