KUALA LUMPUR: iGene Sdn Bhd and InfoValley Life Sciences Sdn Bhd are bringing their digital imaging technology to the animal industry with an initial outlay of US$6mil (RM18mil).
Without specifics, InfoValley Group of Companies CEO Mathavan Chandran told reporters that the facilities would be located in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
iGene and InfoValley Life Sciences are sister companies under the InfoValley Group of Companies, which develop high-definition visualisation products and provide customised solutions for the life sciences industry.
They signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Equestrian Association of Malaysia (EAM) yesterday to sponsor the latter’s horse management for the next five years.
The equine visualisation turnkey concept – termed EquiViz – will be the first fully-functional facility in the world to help veterinarians diagnose injuries or disorders that horses may suffer prior to or after competitions.
The same technology will also be applied in pre-purchase examination of horses, shoeing and fracture assessment, cast application and removal.
The sponsorship worth RM500,000 is timely as the EAM intends to qualify 40 Malaysian riders between the ages of 14 and 18 for FEI World Jumping Challenge this year, which is the qualifying event for next August’s Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
iGene’s other products include the digital autopsy facility and diagnostics station, which do away with incisions into the cadaver, and the Crime Scene Investigation Toolbox for helping forensic scientists re-enact offences.
Demand for the autopsy system comes largely from the United Kingdom where legal cases that require post-mortem are charged £500 each.
Mathavan said the foray would give them a good gauge of the animal market before bringing a similar technology into the domestic pets industry.
He added that the partnership with EAM was done to build on iGene-InfoValley’s global success as well as diversify into “similar capabilities to meet the needs of equine management on a quantitative basis”.
“We mean to aid the process of health management for horses, riding performance and key decision-making in judging during competitions,” he said.
He also explained that the portable facility would facilitate, in high definition 3D, the diagnosing of injuries and disorders that the animal may be suffering prior to or after competition.
InfoValley will place one horse facility in Kuala Lumpur, 18 in the UK and another in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
