A review of the technique of estimating the composition of livestock using the velocity of ultrasound

The use of ultrasound to assess the composition of meat animal species has been a significant practice in the livestock industry for more than 40 years. The different information provided by reflected ultrasound energy from tissue boundaries and that obtained from transmission measurement is outlined, and the relative merits are discussed. The basic components of a velocity of sound (VOS) system are described. The repeatability of VOS measurement is high, being equivalent to prediction error of the order of 9-22.5 g/kg adipose tissue in the carcass (P < 0.05). Results are presented of trials in which the prediction of body or carcass composition of cattle, sheep and pigs was attempted using different techniques. Generally, VOS has performed as well as, or better than, other ultrasound techniques and visual assessment of carcass fatness. Information on meat quality is also possible using VOS to measure intramuscular fat. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.