The U.S. Department of Agriculture is using Tablet PCs in an effort to help monitor the potential spread of mad cow disease in humans. The agency purchased 100 M1400 Tablet PCs from Austin, Texas-based Motion Computing Inc. for the initiative.

Veterinarians at the USDA use the Tablet PCs embedded with forms capture software from Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Mi-Co to capture data such as location and behaviors of selected cows at major slaughterhouses. When the veterinarians return to their regional offices, they dock the Tablet PCs and send the data to a centralized database at the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. A division of the USDA, the NAHLM analyzes the data for signs of mad cow disease.

If such symptoms are found, the NAHLM issues recalls and takes other actions to ensure that no beef from the contaminated cows enters the food chain. It also issues reports when and where such contaminated animals were found to further inhibit the spread of mad cow disease to humans.

For more information, go to www.mi-corporation.com.