New Tech for Parasite Identification

Micron Agritech is a new technology company that has huge potential in the livestock health sector. Founded in 2022, the company has a wide application potential in identifying parasitic infestation in livestock and the technology is affordable, applicable on-farm and provides immediate results.

Daniel describes how how the technology works: “We developed the system in TU Dublin and it is a spin-out from the technological university. We began by looking at the issue of antimicrobial resistance to medication, which is becoming a major problem. In December 2022, we launched Micron Agritech. Since then, farmers and vets have been testing their animals for parasites through an app, using their mobile phones. The results are available within minutes through an AI (artificial intelligence) model. They can then decide whether the animals need medication or not. If they do need treatment, it can be targeted from the results of the test.”

Real-time results

Daniel puts the new technology in perspective: “The alternative for decades has been to send samples off to a lab for testing and that could take up to five days to get results on which to act. Alternatively, the practice was to treat routinely without clear indication of the presence or levels of infection. One of the most valuable assets farmers have is their time. Having to wait an extended period for lab results before treating animals is inconvenient as well as being sub-optimal for animal health if a serious infection is present. There can be a reduction in thrive and that ultimately costs money. With blanket preventative treatments, there is a cost that could be avoided or reduced depending on whether an infestation is present or not, and the level and prevalence of infection across the animal cohort. With our technology, animals can be tested with immediate results, and medication is then administered only where and when needed. That saves the farmer time, it saves on dosing costs and also ensures that if animals are infected, the treatment is targeted, outcomes can be optimised and the best performance from the animals is ensured.”

Reduced resistance

As the range of animal treatments and their efficacy reduces over time, the development of strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance takes on a greater urgency, as the Micron Agritech he explains: “This is a really worrying development. We have seen a growing prevalence of resistance in the last few years. We only have a few active ingredients on the market, and it takes decades to develop new ones. When a farm and its livestock become resistant to a particular form of medication, there is nothing a farmer can do. That’s why it is so important that we are using the medication as intended and in the best way possible so that we can extend its lifespan and efficacy as far as possible. With this system the treatment can be targeted, reducing the risk of resistance arising. In addition, by using the resistance testing procedure post-medication, it is possible to determine how effective it has been. That allows us to track resistance on individual farms and in individual herds.”

GHG reductions

The potential of Micron Agritech’s parasite testing technology was recognised in 2022 when the company won a ‘Best Start-Up’ award at the Innovation Awards hosted by Enterprise Ireland: “That was important to gain recognition for the technology as well as to attract the finance necessary to develop and roll out the system commercially. Because it is complex, it requires large funding to bring it to market. With that funding we have been able to scale the technology globally and we will make it as available as possible to the livestock sector across the world. Apart from the direct animal health benefits there are greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) benefits as well. Parasites live within the gut, lungs, rumen or liver of the animals. Where vital organs are compromised, there is a lowering of health and production efficiency. Reducing or eliminating parasitic infection increases feed efficiency. Emissions increase by up to 30 per cent with parasitic infection, and timely testing and treatment brings down the infection quickly, thereby reducing emissions from the animal," explains Daniel.”

Global issue

And this Irish technological development has global application says Daniel: “Antimicrobial resistance as well as animal parasitic infection are global challenges for livestock production. In addition, some parasites can impact humans. So, we take our mission very seriously in trying to reduce medication. What happens in animal health has consequences for human health. That makes it a global animal and human health issue.

"We are constantly developing new tests to broaden the scope of the technology. We now have a fluke test, allowing us to test for liver and rumen fluke with the app and get results withing minutes. Fluke is a very problematic disease with serious repercussions for animal health. After a very wet year in 2023, the incidences of fluke rose significantly and there is a likelihood that, as weather patterns change and farmers are being encouraged to rewet some land, the incidence of fluke will rise in our herds. "Technology has a big part to play in assisting farmers and vets in tackling these diseases in our livestock to ensure that farms remain profitable by keeping the animals productive," says Daniel.

Rolling out the technology

The development of novel technologies is an expensive exercise. Micron Agritech’s approach is to make the technology as widely available and applicable as possible so that it is commercially viable for users: “Pretty much every region in Ireland is covered by our systems. They are operating in veterinary practices across the country as well as in agri-co-ops. Any farmer or vet or advisor can ask their vet or co-op about using the system. What is involved is essentially bringing a sample to the vet or taking a sample on site, with immediate results in minutes. From a cost perspective, a farmer is only paying for the test. Animal Health Ireland runs a TASAH (Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health) whereby every farmer is entitled to two free tests annually and a veterinary consultation for parasite management, and our system is approved for use under that scheme.”

The business plan for Micron Agritech includes entry into the UK market, which is in progress. Then the European market will be explored and, ultimately, the global potential will be exploited. That, Daniel says, includes Australia and New Zealand as well as North and South America. This will necessitate significant scaling over time to make the technology as accessible and available as possible to the global livestock sector. The world really would appear to be the limit for this Irish-developed livestock health diagnostics system.