Vet Space Ireland wth Micron Agritech

Episode guest: Seán Smith, co-founder of Micron, an Irish veterinary diagnostics company

Hosts: Michelle Maguire and Evelyn Coleman, recorded at Lemon 7 studio, Cork

Seán Smith discusses Micron, a company he co-founded while studying product design in Dublin, which grew from a college project into an automated faecal egg count (FEC) diagnostics business now operating across Ireland and the UK. The Micron kit uses an imaging device (the "AnaLab") paired with AI software to identify and count parasite eggs from prepared faecal samples, cutting a process that traditionally requires a trained technician at a microscope down to a three minute scan with results returned in around 15 minutes. Originally developed for ruminants and equines, the system has expanded into companion animal testing.

The conversation covers how the technology compares to traditional McMaster testing, why routine faecal screening lags behind other markets such as the US and Scandinavia, the role of quick testing in improving treatment compliance (particularly in higher risk pets), the practicalities of sample handling and portability for mobile and farm vets, and how Micron's data dashboard is beginning to support disease surveillance and forecasting, such as predicting nematodirus hatching in spring. The episode closes with a preview of a future episode featuring a farmer discussing dung beetles and testing in more depth.

For more information on FEC diagnostics from Micron visit https://micronagritech.com/micron-kit/

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