Autumn 2012 Edition
UCD Search
Published: 12 September 2012
Shining new light on equine innovation
Dr. Barbara Murphy has been passionately interested in horses since she was a little girl. As a youngster she rode out daily and when the time came to decide on a career, she opted to study Equine Science at the University of Limerick.
For work experience during her third year at College, Dr Murphy spent time with the Coolemore Stud at its US base in Kentucky. This was her first introduction to the world of thoroughbred breeding and she was captivated by it. She subsequently became a specialist in the field of equine biorhythms and thoroughbred reproduction and her research has led to the development of Equilume, a therapeutic light mask for horses which is now on the brink of commercial production.
Dr Murphy has been working at UCD since 2007 and is currently head of subject in Equine Science and programme coordinator for the BAgSc in Animal Science - Equine.
Prior to this she spent six years in Kentucky working on her PhD and research projects at the prestigious Gluck Equine Centre.
To help progress the idea, Dr Murphy joined UCD's Campus Company Development Programme in 2011 and says this provided "the necessary push to meet specific deadlines and bring the idea to full fruition." The technology transfer team at NovaUCD helped with the identification and protection of the intellectual property arising from the research and the spin-out of Equilume into a campus company is also being supported by Enterprise Ireland. Earlier this year Equilume won the Enterprise Ireland "One to Watch" award.
The Equilume therapeutic light mask is displayed on a horse mannequin, with Dr Barbara Murphy, whose research led to the development of the mask
Globally, thoroughbred breeding is a multi-billion dollar industry spread across five Continents; a product that promises to enhance its breeding programmes has significant commercial potential. The estimated market value worldwide for a product such as the light mask is in excess of €60 million. Since Ireland is the world's third largest producer of thoroughbred foals, there should also be good demand closer to home.
The Equilume mask was successfully trialed on a large scale in the US earlier this year and considerable interest has already been shown in the product by a number of breeders around the world. Dr Murphy is hoping to have the mask made in Ireland and in full-scale production by 2013.
"Had I not had a really good placement at university I wouldn't be where I am now," she says. "As a consequence of my initial placement I have had the opportunity to study and work in the US among the breeding community and have had a lot of exposure to the thoroughbred industry. During my research I spoke to many breeders and farm managers and this helped give me an insight into what would be acceptable in what is still a very traditional industry in many respects. I have also had great support from leading people in the industry such as Dermot Cantillon who is the owner/manager of three stud farms in Ireland and the USA and who successfully used the light mask this year."
The thoroughbred breeding industry operates within the confines of a very tight breeding and racing calendar. Under industry rules the universal birth date for all foals, regardless of when they are born, is January 1st. This runs contrary to the natural foaling season which is typically June to October.
Because of the universal birth date, breeders try to produce foals as close to January 1st as possible. They currently artificially advance the mares' breeding cycle by keeping them indoors under lights for approximately 12 weeks from December. This represents a big cost to breeders in terms of labour, power and bedding. The Equilume light mask achieves exactly the same result but at a much lower cost. Each mare wears an individual mask, allowing them to stay outdoors in their natural environment.
The mask consists of tiny blue LED lights set into one of the eye cups of a pair of conventional blinkers routinely worn by horses. The battery-operated light operates at low-level intensity over a timed period. This limits the level of the hormone melatonin which is usually produced in darkness and inhibits the mare's reproductive activity during winter months.
A key collaborator with Dr Murphy on the Equilume mask is Professor John Sheridan of the UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering who specialises in opto electronics. "I had an idea of what I wanted and approached Professor Sheridan whose expertise made it all happen," Dr Murphy says.
Other potential uses of the Equilume light mask include addressing low foal birth weight, reducing gestation lengths in mares due to foal early in the year, enabling competition horses to shed their winter coats earlier in time for the start of the show circuit, and helping race horses and showjumpers who compete on the international circuit overcome equine jet lag.
Commenting on the success of Equilume to date, Professor Peter Clinch, UCD Vice-President for Innovation says "Equilume is an excellent example of a young spin-out company. They identified a problem in the equine market place and provided a solution, translating an innovative idea arising from a UCD research programme into a commercial entity. The company also has the potential to provide skilled job opportunities."
"I'd like to keep as much of the project as possible in Ireland both now and into the future as the technology has other applications which we will be looking into, "Dr Murphy adds. "Right now the focus is on testing the product simultaneously on three Continents and working on refining the prototype and selecting our manufacturing partners. We are doing a bit of juggling around this as in some markets the preference is for leather headpieces whereas in markets such as Japan for example, they are more into synthetics." Dr Murphy says that her short-term plan is to spin out the company by the end of this year and bring an angel investor on board to help support its future development.
Dr Barbara Murphy was in conversation with freelance business journalist Olive Keogh (MA 1984)
Produced by UCD University Relations
Share this story...
Download Full Edition
