TidalSense Receives €8.6 Million Investment

TidalSense, a health technology company, has received 8.6 million euros in investment. The investors included BGF and Downing. The new capital will further develop TidalSense's diagnostics business. It will also be used to target the primary care and diagnostic provider market in the UK.

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Health Tech Company TidalSense Receives €8.6 Million Investment

A Cambridge-based AI-driven company has developed N-Tidal, a handheld medical device that enables faster, more accurate and automated diagnosis of conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The device sensitively detects changes in lung function and then diagnoses asthma in combination with COPD.

COPD and asthma are diseases that currently affect 10% of the world's population and are increasing. The cost of these diseases is often associated with hospitalization of patients in the later stages of the disease, making them one of the most expensive conditions for health systems. Early detection and accurate diagnosis have the potential to slow disease progression. Globally, the market for diagnostics and monitoring of COPD and asthma is estimated at €7.4 billion annually.

Current tests for COPD and asthma use a technology from the 1840s called spirometry. These tests take 30 minutes each and have some shortcomings. Spirometry testing can be uncomfortable for patients. The specialized system is time-consuming for both patients and clinicians. It is based on a technique that can often lead to misdiagnosis. However, diagnostic testing of the N-Tidal device can be performed at the point of care. It can be completed in less than five minutes. The device requires no specialized training and is based on relaxed breathing.

This eliminates technical dependency and reduces the risk of misdiagnosis. Preliminary usability studies have shown that 99% of patients reported that the test was easy. The N-Tidal device has been used in more than 1000 patients, collecting more than 2.3 million breaths through clinical trials and experiments. Using this data and the company's AI platform, N-Tidal can analyze patients' lung health in real time and make a diagnosis in minutes.