Perth-headquartered outfit CustomVis, the designer of surgical laser vision equipment for 'custom' eye surgery, has failed to set the market alight since joining AIM at 91p in the summer of 2003. Yet potentially, this a great business with huge potential, as a lone operator or a bid target long-term. Set up by Dr Paul van Saarloos in 2001 to address problems in the laser vision correction (LVC) market, which uses lasers to re-shape the cornea, CustomVis's system incorporates a solid state laser, rather than the existing and less effective gas laser system, that tracks the movement of the patient's eye, and incorporates diagnostic data into surgical planning software and treatment. Delays in achieving first sales of the system meant CustomVis lost £2.1m in the half to December. But the company has spent time honing its product, has restructured and geared up production. Clinical data from trials of its laser system from surgeries in Norway, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Columbia has been strong, and to date, CustomVis lasers have treated over 400 eyes. CustomVis recently sold its first laser, to a clinic in Korea, and its pipeline of trials around the world should convert into sales in the coming months. 'Within 12 months, we'll be cashflow break-even,' predicts van Saarloos. 'There are 6,000 lasers installed around the world and, one day, this whole market will go solid state,' he adds. 'The margins are going to be huge, since the barriers to entry are so hard.' Cash at the interim was £3.5m, so the market value looks undercooked. Speculative buy.