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Inside View On Sheep Production - SAC Mobile Scanning Service Back On The Road

SAC News Release Ref. No: 10N27
Published: 22 Apr 2010

SAC's mobile CT scanning unit (opens in new window)

SAC’s Mobile CT Scanning Service will be back on the road in May, heading for Nottingham University to offer sheep breeders a unique insight of their livestock.

For generations, shepherds have relied on their eyes, hands and experience to judge which sheep are best to breed from.  CT scanning is a non-invasive technology that allows them to see inside their living lambs and accurately measure the amount of muscle, fat and bone shown on a computer screen.

The use of scanners in human medicine has become commonplace, whether it be for investigating knee injuries to expensive footballers or diagnosing cancer. The mobile CT scanner SAC uses allows them to deliver their expertise in livestock scanning to a range of clients across the UK.  It is a technique used by the top pedigree breeders whose rams are bought by commercial sheep producers to father the lean, meaty lambs that butchers and consumers are demanding. 

Since the agricultural revolution began, livestock breeders have improved their flocks and herds by breeding from the best and selecting the traits demanded by the market.  At one time that demand was for quality wool, now the emphasis is on lean meat and good growth rates. Yet only 55% of carcasses meet industry targets for leanness, which offers a real challenge to the industry.  Forward-thinking pedigree breeders use a variety of techniques to assess high genetic merit and the SAC CT Scanning Service is one of the latest.

SAC has over 10 years of scanning research and experience, beginning with a static unit in Scotland which, until recently, also offered a diagnostic service to vets.  The mobile service has been operating since 2009 and offers the same essential elements in animal handling and scanning.

Following strict animal welfare guidelines, sheep receive a mild sedative before they are positioned on the scanning table, lying calmly as it moves through the scanning ring.  In the operator’s room, images taken by the scanner are captured in a computer program for future analysis. The whole operation takes just 3 minutes before the lambs are back in their pen eating and drinking.

From the computer screen, the operators can select from hundreds of virtual “slices” through the animal’s body, allowing them to look at internal organs, muscle groups, fat deposits and the skeleton. The technology even allows 3D images of the whole animal to appear on the screen so it can be looked at from every angle.  All the computerised information gathered is added to a whole database of statistical data on the various sheep breeds, which form the basis of genetically-based breeding values, calculated to help in the continuous selection of the best animals to breed from. 

The SAC Mobile Scanning Service will be based at Nottingham University in May, when lambs from the Charollais Sheep Society will be scanned. There are plans for a monthly return from June through to September to scan lambs from pedigree Suffolk, Texel, Meatlinc and Beltex flocks, with a date also planned for Aberystwyth later in the year if required.  Sheep breeders using SAC’s CT scanning service, both with the static unit in Scotland and the mobile unit, receive support from the English meat promotion body EBLEX, Quality Meat Scotland and Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales.  

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SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, Bush Estate,
Penicuik
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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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