Normally, the larger the bug (or worse, spider) that frisks across my path, the stronger my tendency to cringe. But a little–actually, a lot–closer, and aspects of that skittering speck become almost beautiful: a lace wing, a multifaceted eye.
ioLight, maker of a high-resolution portable microscope that displays images directly onto your tablet or mobile phone, is nearing the end of its Crowdcube fundraising campaign. Offering 10 percent equity, the company is now overfunding, having raised £151,140 of its £150,000 goal from 156 investors. The largest investment thus far is £10,000, with one days remaining.
The microscope is among the first of its kind in the UK and delivers a resolution of better than 1μm, patent pending, according to the campaign page. Potential markets including schools, labs and universities, and investment is now needed to scale up manufacturing in order to take the product to market.
IoLight’s founders, Andrew Monk and Richard Williams, have both held CEO posts in technology startups. ioLight came about when they noticed that recent developments in smart phone and tablet technology make them serious tools that can be used for professional quality applications. There are plenty of excellent cameras and telescopes for smart phones and there are even a few microscopes, but the founders were surprised to find that the microscopes are of poor quality.
Williams’ doctorate in optics and 20 years of experience in optical engineering helped lead him to a solution, and the two filed a UK patent application in 2014 and a worldwide PCT application in 2015.
The ioLight microscope is due for launch early in 2016, according to ioLight’s website. Crowdcube has also rated the campaign as one of their “Top Rated” campaigns.
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