Description
An electronic bolus bearing a unique identification number provides a powerful tool for tracing the origin of cattle afflicted with infectious diseases such as mad cow disease or other conditions affecting human health. EZID's Tracker Rumen Bolus is essentially an oversized pill that stays in the ruminant animal's stomach for life.

An outer shell of DuPont Hytrel® protects the internal electronics. Inside is a passive radio-frequency transponder that transmits the ID number whenever energized by a compatible external reader. Integrated with a management information system, the identification device can also help improve cattle breeding, feeding, production analysis and herd management.

Under a joint development agreement with the bolus manufacturer, AVID Animal Identification Systems Inc., Norco, California, DuPont specialists developed a special heavyweight grade of Hytrel® and provided crucial assistance in mold design and processing techniques. The first production samples were molded at our U.S. Application Technologies Center.

Benefits
Retention in the animal.
The specially tailored heavy-weight grade of Hytrel® provides a major part of the weight required for retention of the bolus in the ruminant animal's stomach.

Impact protection.
Despite its high filler content, the heavy Hytrel® compound delivers the toughness, impact resistance and cushioning needed to protect the bolus's electronic components. The encapsulated bolus passes AVID's 1-meter drop test without damage.

Liquid-proof.
Use of retractible-pin tooling and molding techniques invented by DuPont produces a fully encapsulated bolus that seals out gastric juices.

Efficient production.
The thermoplastic injection molding process encapsulates the bolus's electronic core in a single step with no pre-molding, finishing or post-cure steps.

Materials Used
Hytrel®