Solution Steps
•The device provides fomentation application of hot moist substances to the muscles to ease pain by easing muscle torsion to the reproductive parts of the bovine cattle.
•The device provides active mechanical simulation using a vibrator vibrating transversely about the axis of the device and hence to the axis of the vulva tract.
•The device inflates itself using an inflatable silicone rubber cover that holds itself inside the vulva against the slippery surface of the epithelium and sudden voluntary and involuntary contractions and relaxation of the animal. This is necessary since the device has to be kept inside for hours for dilation to start.
•The device runs on a 12V Lithium Polymer battery and all the electronic/ electrical elements are kept outside the vulva to address any safety concerns. The battery is kept inside an enclosure that also contains other electronics such as a microcontroller for temperature control and display, a display unit for temperature. Power electronics to feed current to vibrator element and heating element.
•Heating element of the device is kept outside and only heating fluid water is allowed to go inside the cylinder kept inside the vulva. The temperature variation is closely monitored and controlled using a microcontroller-based thermal feedback sensor and heat exchanger nichrome wire jacketed around the water heat exchanger that is supplied with current to increase its temperature and shut down when the temperature exceeds the threshold.
Testing the Prototype
The Preliminary work for the proposed intervention involves the development of a prototype TRL-3 to test the technical feasibility of the device and to test the hypotheses that intense fomentation and vibration therapy can cause the dilation. The prototype can continuously work for more than 20 hours with some interruptions due to the nature of the prototype level . For testing the efficacy of the device, it has been tested in 25 bovine subjects with successful dilation in 85 of cases and a significant reduction in the cervical dilation period 12 to 18 hours . For cases of severe dystocia, the chances of calf survival are very low and for the well-being of the dam mother cattle , it is important to remove the dead calf from inside. The device proved to be very effective in stimulating a faster cervix dilation for the removal of such dead calves from the mother’s body.