A Winnipeg inventor who developed a better livestock needle will bring it to the worldwide market this summer.
Grant Humphry’s Process Detectable Needle is a livestock vaccination needle that can be recognized by packing plant metal detectors if it breaks off in an animal.
Humphry will distribute his needle through livestock pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough Corporation of Kelingworth, New Jersey.
The needles are made of a different alloy than the traditional 304 stainless steel, which makes them reliably detectable at packing plants.
“We have developed a stronger needle with a polypropalene hub that will have less chance of breakage and if does, it is easier to remove and if necessary detect with a scanner,” Humphry said.
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If the needles do break, they tend to snap at the hub, keeping a piece of the hub intact and making it easy to locate and remove.
Rob McNabb of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said the CCA plans to make the detectable needle part of a new national standards program, which he said was “imminent.”
“Right now there is only one maker of the needle. It is the standard of detectability that we will endorse.”
The hog industry first helped Humphry develop his needle and it is anxious to see it on the market.
Dawn LeBlanc of the Canadian Pork Council said her association, along with the American National Pork Producers Council, sees the need for such a needle.
“Broken needles don’t happen very often,” she said.
“When it does, producers are quick to report it.”
Humphry left for China March 5 to begin production of three million needles.
He said his needle costs more to produce because it is made of a more expensive stainless steel alloy and has a new plastic hub.
Needle sizes will range from 14 to 20 gauge.
