Imagine if, moments after a baby's birth, he was implanted with a tiny electronic device.

The microscopic biosensor would continuously monitor the baby's vital signs - from respiratory rates and body temperature to the presence of proteins that indicate oncoming illness.

When any element in the baby's delicate internal balance slipped, the device would signal the nurse's station, so they could check the problem before the first symptoms emerged. Even after the infant was brought home, the sensor would continue to work, alerting the hospital or parents if, say, the child's breathing stopped or his temperature suddenly spiked.

Sound too fantastic to believe? Not among researchers at NDSU and the Research and Technology Park. University animal scientists have teamed up with private partners and NDSU's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering in hopes of producing nanochip-based remote sensing and monitoring (RSM) technologies. The project not only shows tremendous promise in improving livestock care, but in maintaining human health as well.

"We're pretty excited about this. This is an opportunity to bring all of our expertise together to pursue an important objective," said Ken Odde, head of the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, which would bring its knowledge on animal systems to the project.

NDSU officials are so committed to the potential of the remote technology that they've submitted a proposal to the state Legislature to launch an Economic Development Center of Excellence at NDSU.

If approved, the center could begin research as early as spring 2005. Its first project would involve developing biosensors to track real-time body temperature readings for cattle in feedlot operations. The sensors, implanted in an ear of each animal, would send temperature readings to receivers, which would transmit the information to a central station in the feedlot office.

"The feedlot manager could sit in his office and know the body temperatures of all the animals there," Odde says. Temperature changes can indicate many conditions, from ovulation in cows slated for artificial insemination to the onset of illness.

Once a platform is built to monitor body temperature, the technology would be expanded for other uses - from measuring signs of animal stress to any number of metabolic functions. And RSM technology could reach beyond feedlots. Odde believes it could be modified for any number of scenarios, from cattle ranches or dairy operations to border inspection. (A border biosensor system, for instance, could expedite checking for contagious infections such as foot-and-mouth disease in incoming animals.)

Although the remote system's possibilities seem endless, developers will have to make it cost-effective. "There has to be value to the cattle owner in getting information such as real-time body temperature," Odde says. "Producers aren't going to pay $100 a cow for this."

CNSE researchers also could contribute expertise to the project. Providing knowledge in animal science and bio-sensing will be NDSU faculty members Larry Reynolds, Joel Caton, Suranjan Panigrahi, Kimberly Vonnahme and Marc Bauer.

"These are outstanding scientists," Odde says. Once the systems have been rigorously tested on animals, the logical next step is human application. The sensors could have numerous uses, from precisely monitoring blood sugar in severe diabetics to providing important health data in vulnerable adults who have trouble communicating.

Experts predict that RSM technology could be in wide use in as little as five to 15 years.

And NDSU is poised at the forefront.