Veterinary ultrasound has a number of uses, including in assessing meat quality. An article dedicated to this topic can be found by clicking here. Briefly, when we speak about meat quality, we are measuring ‘fat and muscle depth on the live animal...often with an ultimate goal of genetic improvement of the herd or flock’ (Vet Image Solutions).

One term associated with this topic is marbling, which is carried out in cattle. Marbling is considered a very important factor in assessing the quality of meat, and is conveyed using a scoring system. The more marbling that is present, the better the meat is thought to taste (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food). As the name suggests, marbling is where the meat takes on a marbled appearance, and is caused by the extent of intramuscular fat content (Wikipedia). It is thought that selective breeding can help in controlling the amount of marbling found in meat.  

So where does veterinary ultrasound come in? Being able to use ultrasound as an aid in the cattle selection process for increased levels of marbling is one advantage of this technique, although other characteristics that are equally important should not be disregarded (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food). Whilst assessing meat quality after an animal has been slaughtered enables quick and easy identification and quantification of marbling, this does not allow for breeders to select for animals with desirable characteristics. Using ultrasonography circumvents this problem. Technological advances have allowed ultrasound scanners to be used more regularly in this field, and return images of the area of the animal that was scanned. High quality images are sure to make the practitioner’s job easier in years to come, where the muscle and fat composition will be easier to see. This can then allow breeders to choose specific animals they wish to mate that would increase the quality of meat yielded. Consequently, ultrasound imaging is now being applied as a method by which to assess marbling in both cattle and swine (D.C. Miller, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Animal Science Facts, ANS 96-010B). However, there are some limitations associated with this process, including the difficulty in distinguishing different bodily compositions that are situated in close contact with the muscle. In order to try and gain reliable and repeatable results, statistics has been employed, but this is likely to be an ongoing process constantly requiring improvement and development (D.C. Miller, Ph.D., Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Animal Science Facts, ANS 96-010B). You can learn more about this topic by reading the following paper: Brethour JR. 1994 72(6):1425-32, J Anim Sci.

In sum, using ultrasound imaging has the potential to determine the quantity of marbling in live cattle and swine with the developments in technology that are occurring presently and likely to further develop over the coming years (North Carolina State University, Animal Science Facts, ANS 96-010B). In fact, research is ongoing in this field right here at Vet Image Solutions, with Phillip Boyd working in conjunction with Signet on Wagyu cattle. For further information, please see the section on our website that discusses using veterinary ultrasound to assess meat quality byhttp://vetimagesolutions.co.uk/Meat-Quality clicking here.