THE company behind the Equilume light mask has secured €550,000 in funding to market and promote its product worldwide.

Enterprise Ireland and a number of angel investors from Ireland, Britain and America are backing the UCD spin-out company whose award-winning light mask assists breeders in maximising the reproductive efficiency and performance of their mares (see Hugh Dillon’s Hands On veterinary article on page A52).

Equilume founder, Dr Barbara Murphy of UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, said: “The Equilume light mask has already gained considerable traction within the global thoroughbred market and this summer we doubled our sales in the key Australian market.

“This seed-funding will help us accelerate our marketing efforts, expand our reach into new market segments and continue to break new boundaries in advancing equine reproductive health technologies with our ongoing new product development.”

Equilume, based in Co Kildare, currently employs seven people and this is expected to rise to 11 by the end of 2016.

The light mask, which emits a low level blue light into a single eye of the mare, was developed in collaboration with Professor John Sheridan, an optoelectronics researcher in UCD’s School of Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering.

Dr Brian O’Neill of Enterprise Ireland said: “This is an amazing success story and a world’s first. We are delighted to have supported this company from a research concept stage right through to commercialisation and global roll-out.”