Crowdcube campaign expands focus of digital microscope

It is a laboratory grade microscope that fits in a jacket pocket, is simple to use and robust. It unfolds quickly to record and share 5MP still images and real time HD video on an iPad.

In the first six months of business over 40 units were sold to customers, including The Eden Project, Bayer, universities, schools, vets, pathologists and micro-engineering companies.

Andrew Monk, Founder of ioLight, said: "We are delighted that on the first Crowdcube campaign we exceeded our target by over 60%. This funding facilitated the launch of our first product, just 9 months later. Now that we have a proven track record and some key customers we plan to increase our sales team, invest in product development and invest more funds in marketing. It really is a very exciting time for our company as we announce product updates and plan to grow product sales into global markets. Anyone can invest, from as little as £10 to £100,000 or more and be part of this journey with us."

The microscope market is sized at $5bn, and it is estimated that $340m is available to ioLight. A worldwide patent application for the portable, high resolution microscope was filed in 2014, and with growing product sales and a gross margin of 68% the ioLight microscope has already been very well received by customers from diverse markets, including endorsements from The Eden Project, Bayer and Cambridge University.

Cambridge University said: “It produces high-quality images for rapid and high-resolution inspection of many samples, and is extremely convenient to use.”

Chris Bisson, Policy Development Manager at the Eden Project, said: “Here at the Eden Project we have used the ioLight Digital Microscope for a wide range of activities, from investigating plant diseases to demonstrating the microscopic world of pond water to school children. It’s really easy to use and has been brilliant for enthusing both children and adults in the microscopic world around us.”

Just as the compact digital camera made photography available to anyone, the ioLight microscope is always available to look at pond water, plant cells and anything else that comes to hand. Bayer Animal Health recently invited ioLight to exhibit on its stand at the London Vet Show.

The resolution of the ioLight microscope is 1µ, that’s 1/1,000mm - powerful enough to see the structure of plant and animal cells. The product uses standard microscope slides and features adjustable top and bottom illumination for use on both biological and opaque samples. It is particularly good for live samples, which deteriorate on the journey back to the lab, and it works anywhere, even without a WiFi or mobile phone network.

You can find the Crowdcube campaign here.