A co-founder of Springfield Road-based Andor Technology — the manufacturer of high-performance scientific digital cameras for research institutes which recently sold for £176m — has just secured funding for a new start-up.

Hugh Cormican, a former member of the West Belfast Partnership Board, says his new company Cirdan will export medical diagnostic and imaging products to cancer hospitals across the world.

Equity company Kernel Capital has unveiled a substantial investment in the early-stage company.

“Kernel Capital has a strong track record of investing with high growth export focused innovative companies," says Cirdan CEO Cormican. "We look forward to Kernel Capital’s strategic and hands-on input as we scale the company, increasing our exports and creating further employment in Northern Ireland.”

The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund supports innovative SMEs focused on export led growth and building the next generation of world-class companies across Ireland.

Hugh Cormican was among a group of Queen's grads who established Andor Technology in 1989. This year's Nobel Prize for Chemistry was won by three researchers using Andor cameras.