Research and development into a hand-held pregnancy testing device designed for use by laymen has been put on hold, having failed to meet required accuracy benchmarks, Meat & Livestock Australia has announced.

The e-preg device, developed HEARD Systems through an MLA Donor Company funded project has, to date, not been able to reach the MLA required accuracy for use by the Australian beef cattle industry, a statement said.

The project, funded collaboratively through the MDC with Heard Systems Pty Ltd, began in 2009 and aimed to develop a hand-held ECG non-invasive pregnancy diagnosis device.

MDC investment has been put on hold while the HEARD company explores e-preg’s future options and alternative approaches.

MLA Donor Company research is funded through private investment and matching government dollars. No producer levies are invested in MDC research projects.

• Beef Central reported on earlier stages of e-preg’s development back in 2011. Click here to view earlier story.