Irish horse cheats death through the appliance of science

From left, at the stables of thoroughbred Annagh Haven in Oristown, Co Meath is Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Damien English, Prof Fergal OBrien, deputy director of Amber and head of the tissue engineering research group in RCSI, and Laurence Mulvany, owner of thefilly Annagh Haven (pictured).

A promising young racehorse facing the prospect of being put down was rescued from death by a bone repair technology developed by scientists in Ireland. The thoroughbreds jaw was rebuilt and the two-year-old filly is performing well on the racetrack.

The bone repair technology, called HydroxyColl, allows lost or damaged bone to be regrown. It was developed by researchers in the Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research Centre (Amber) a collaboration involving Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Annagh Havens successful return to the track was a research highlight presented on Tuesday at an industry day marking the centres first year in operation. The RCSI has set up a spin-out company, SurgaColl Technologies, to market the product.

This was its first clinical use and was used to treat a cyst in the horses jaw. It left the jaw at risk of breaking and stopped the horse eating properly, and a common outcome is euthanasia.

Blood vessels

The treatment involved removing the cyst and then rebuilding the jaw by implanting a 3-d scaffold which acts like a bone graft. This helps to build up bone and encourages blood vessels to form, the Amber research team said.

Annagh Haven has since returned to racing and has won or placed six times to date. The work demonstrated Ambers ability to push the boundaries of science, said the centres acting director Prof Stefano Sanvito.

The industry day showed that the State was getting good value from its investment in scientific research, said Damien English, Minister of State for Skills, Research and Innovation.

You are making your case for continuing success, he said. Amber received a five year budget in 2013 of 58 million including 35 million from the State and 23 million from industrial partners. The State funding comes via Science Foundation Ireland.

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Irish horse cheats death through the appliance of science