Cambridge-based medical technology company TidalSense has raised £14.2 million to expand the rollout of a handheld device that can diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in around five minutes.
The funding round was led by North American impact investor Cross Border Impact Ventures, with participation from existing backers including BGF, Airstream Capital and Foresight Group.
The company plans to use the money to expand the device across the NHS, grow its presence in European markets and enter the United States. It will also develop software that could allow the same device to diagnose asthma.
COPD is one of the UK’s leading causes of death. The NHS estimates that the condition kills around 30,000 people a year in England and costs the health service approximately £1.9 billion.
TidalSense’s device is designed to speed up diagnosis. Patients breathe normally into the handheld unit for 75 seconds, while artificial intelligence models trained using more than 2.5 million breaths analyse the results and provide a diagnosis on screen.
The company says the process can be completed in as little as five minutes, allowing clinicians to see up to six patients an hour compared with around one patient using traditional spirometry.
Traditional spirometry requires patients to forcefully exhale into a spirometer, a technology first developed in the 19th century. TidalSense says healthcare professionals can be trained to use its device in about 10 minutes.
Chief executive Ameera Patel said the technology could significantly reduce the time required for testing.
“A patient will breathe normally through it for 75 seconds,” she said. “It’s processed in real time and the clinician gets a diagnosis on the screen.”
The company’s N-Tidal Diagnose software recorded more than 90% accuracy in its first real-world trial in 2023 and was introduced into the NHS last year.
The technology is now being used in Suffolk, northeast Essex, Wales, Glasgow and community lung screening clinics in southern England.
Earlier diagnosis remains a major challenge. Asthma + Lung UK estimates that a quarter of COPD patients wait at least five years before receiving a diagnosis.
Patel said COPD should not be viewed solely as a disease linked to smoking. She pointed to indoor cooking with biomass fuels and air pollution as significant causes of the condition in many parts of the world.
TidalSense, founded in 2013, has now raised nearly £30 million, including £8 million in grants.
Patel said the latest investment also demonstrated the potential for hardware companies at a time when many investors are focusing heavily on software.
She argued that physical products supported by proprietary data could offer strong protection against competition, particularly as artificial intelligence makes software products easier to develop.
The company was founded by chief engineering officer Julian Carter, who has a PhD in microelectronics and more than 35 years of experience developing medical devices.
