AMPC congratulates Dr Stephen Connaughton on award win
AMPC is a proud partner of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Science and Innovation Awards for Young People and would like to congratulate the AMPC supported 2023 Science and Innovation Award winner Dr Stephen Connaughton.
Stephen’s project will explore dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), an imaging tool that allows meat processors to tell the difference between fat, muscle and bone with incredible precision and accuracy. His project will combine the technology with machine learning to quickly detect bones and virtually dissect lamb carcasses.
If successful, the project will help Australian red meat processing plants use DXA imaging to virtually dissect lamb carcasses. This will help inform the whole supply chain as to whether the lambs produced are what many markets and consumers demand, giving everyone from producers to processors the information required to change their management practices.
Murdoch University senior research officer and qualified vet Dr Stephen Connaughton said, “DXA has been around for a couple of decades, however medical-grade imaging isn’t practical for processing plants because it’s too slow.”
“I’m hoping to improve the effectiveness of technology that uses a single X-ray source, rather than two.”
“If you need to do it quick, this is the method, it’s within seconds rather than minutes”, he said.
As part of his project, Stephen will collect and analyse more than 10,000 traditional DXA images of lamb carcasses. He’ll then use machine learning to help detect bones using the single source technology. He will also validate the algorithm on at least 10,000 more images and validate bone length estimated by boning out 50-100 West Australian lamb carcasses.
“The ability to better detect bone is going to be a big leap, the machine’s precision and accuracy will increase.”
“This will vastly improve the quality of information available to an abattoir boning room for each carcass.”
“Understanding the bone content will help processing plants sort carcasses, as well as providing further valuable information to producers and geneticists”, he said.
The Science and Innovation Awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists, researchers, and innovators through national recognition of their research ideas. Winners have been granted funding to undertake a project on an emerging scientific issue or innovative activity which will contribute to the success of Australia’s agriculture sector.
The Science Awards have already helped almost 300 young Australians make their ideas a reality and showcase their talent to the world.
For more information about the Science Awards, visit: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/conferences-events/scienceawards