Anna Leclercq

PhD student at the department of Animal Biosciences since 2022 (preliminary title of thesis: Exploring the kinematics of lameness in dairy cows)

Today, lameness and orthopedic disease is common in dairy cows, and has a negative impact on animal welfare and economy. Manual lameness assessment is time consuming and flawed due to its inherent subjectivity, and refined methods are needed to detect lameness at an early stage.

In equine practice, systems for objective gait analysis where movement asymmetries are quantified with the use of body-mounted sensors or camera systems are growing in popularity. These systems can detect very small deviations from perfect symmetry, and thus help clinicians overcome limitations posed by the human eye. In my PhD project, I will explore the possibility to use such techniques to detect changes indicative of lameness in walking dairy cows. Thus, we will contribute with a base of knowledge which can be built upon in the future development of computer vision-based surveillance systems, where the movement pattern of animals can be continuously monitored without the need for body-mounted sensors. 

I also take part in different research projects involving biomechanics and objective gait analysis in horses. 

Main supervisor: Elin Hernlund

Assistant supervisors: Marie Rhodin (SLU), Niclas Högberg (SLU), Pia Haubro Andersen (SLU), Anna Byström (SLU)

Apart from conducting research, I spend 20% of my time teaching anatomy, primarily for veterinary students but also for veterinary nursing students and agronomy students.