System and method for health monitoring using real-time location

A system for health monitoring, comprising:

• a plurality of identification devices positioned in a pen;
• a tag worn by a dairy livestock in the pen;
• one or more memory modules that store:
• location information obtained from the identification devices in conjunction with the tag, the location information associated with the dairy livestock, the location information comprising a location of the dairy livestock within the pen at each of a plurality of times during a first time period;
• and
• a baseline health index over a second time period that is prior to the first time period;
• and
• one or more processing modules that:
• determines, based on at least a portion of the stored location information, at least a first movement parameter and a second movement parameter associated with the dairy livestock;
• determines a health index for the dairy livestock corresponding to a function of at least the first movement parameter and the second movement parameter;
• and
• determines that the dairy livestock is unhealthy by determining that the determined health index is in excess of the baseline health index by more than a predefined amount.

A method for health monitoring, comprising:

• storing location information associated with a dairy livestock, the location information comprising a coordinate location of the dairy livestock within a free stall pen at each of a plurality of times during a time period, the location information having been generated by a real-time location system (RTLS) comprising a plurality of identification devices positioned throughout the free stall pen, the plurality of identification devices each operable to, at each of the plurality of times during the time period, generate a signal corresponding to a tag affixed to the dairy livestock;
• determining a stall standing parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was standing in a stall of the free stall pen;
• determining a stall lying parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was lying in a stall of the free stall pen;
• determining an alley walking parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was walking in a walking alley of the free stall pen;
• determining an alley lying parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was lying in a walking alley of the free stall pen;
• determining an alley standing parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was standing stationary in a walking alley of the free stall pen;
• determining a feeding parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was located within a predefined distance of a feed lane of the free stall pen;
• determining a watering parameter corresponding to the percentage of the time period that the dairy livestock was located within a predefined distance of a water trough of the free stall pen;
• and
• determining whether a heath index for the dairy livestock is in excess of a baseline health index by more than a predefined amount, the health index for the dairy livestock corresponding to a function of the stall standing parameter, the stall lying parameter, the alley walking parameter, the alley lying parameter, the alley standing parameter, the feeding parameter, and the watering parameter.