Cambridge, UK — 08:00 GMT+1 24 July 2026 — At least
600,000 people
in the UK are currently waiting for a formal COPD diagnosis. The test
they are waiting for - spirometry - requires forceful exhalation,
specialist training to administer, and can take the best part of an
hour per patient when factoring in wait and recovery time.
TidalSense
has built an alternative. N-Tidal Diagnose requires patients to
breathe normally into a handheld device for 75 seconds, capturing a
CO₂ waveform — a capnogram — of the kind traditionally used in
critical care, which a set of AI models analyses to detect COPD. Any
healthcare professional can be trained to use the device in 10
minutes, with no specialist qualification required. The result:
clinicians can see 4-6 patients an hour, compared to roughly one an
hour with traditional spirometry.
Today, TidalSense announces a $19 million funding round to accelerate
commercialisation in the UK and support globalisation of the
technology, including to the USA. The round includes investment from
new investor Cross-Border Impact Ventures (a North American health
tech impact fund), and returning investors BGF (the UK's most active
growth capital investor), Airstream Capital, and Foresight Group.
COPD is the
UK's third biggest cause of death, killing around 30,000 people a year and costing the NHS £1.9
billion annually.
Over half of NHS regions' lack the capacity
to meet current demand for spirometry testing, and an estimated 1.9
million people are living with the condition — diagnosed and
undiagnosed combined. And it's getting worse. COPD is the
second-leading cause
of emergency hospital admissions, while an exacerbation serious enough
to require hospital treatment is linked to
worse prognosis and higher risk of death.
N-Tidal Diagnose was designed to close that gap. Its AI diagnostic
models have been trained on more than 2.5 million patient breaths. The
patented technology is the product of more than a decade of R&D that
has been led by some of the leading experts in the field. In the first
post-market validation of the device — presented at the European
Respiratory Society congress in 2025, and conducted on a completely
unseen patient cohort — N-Tidal Diagnose achieved above 90%
performance across all key metrics of diagnostic accuracy.
N-Tidal Diagnose software became the first non-spirometry AI
diagnostic device to receive a CE mark under EU MDR (Class IIa) for
COPD in March 2025 and launched into the NHS in September 2025. It was
commissioned by Suffolk and North-East Essex Integrated Care Board,
and its use has since expanded into NHS Wales, community lung
screening clinics in the South of England, and now into Glasgow.
Dr Ameera Patel, CEO of TidalSense, said: "Respiratory disease
has been neglected by governments and health systems for years, often
overshadowed by cancer and cardiovascular disease, even though it
affects one in five people. That's finally starting to change. The
World Health Organization now recognises COPD as a global health
priority, and it's about time. Part of the problem has always been how
we talk about it: COPD is widely seen as a smoker's disease, but a
quarter of cases come from air pollution and the biomass fuel millions
still cook with every day.”
"We're still diagnosing in the 21st century with a test invented in
the 1800s, and one that needs specialist equipment and training most
of the world doesn't have access to. Lower income and minority
communities pay the price for that first. That's the gap we want to
close at TidalSense, and the NHS is the first place we're doing it.”
Claire Greason, Chief Nursing Officer at GP Primary Choice in North
East Essex, said:
“GPPC deployed N-Tidal Diagnose last year, and the test has proven to
be a simple, effective, and accessible diagnostic tool for patients.
Unlike traditional spirometry, N-Tidal Diagnose requires only relaxed,
normal breathing rather than forced exhalation, making it suitable for
a wider range of patients, including those who may previously have
been unable to undertake spirometry due to contraindications or
practical challenges.
N-Tidal Diagnose has enabled us to offer an alternative diagnostic
assessment, supporting earlier and more inclusive access to COPD
diagnosis and care. Feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly
positive, with many valuing the simplicity of the test and the
significantly shorter appointment times compared with traditional
spirometry.
Our workforce has also embraced the introduction of N-Tidal Diagnose,
finding both the implementation process and the delivery of clinics
straightforward. Staff report that the technology has had a positive
impact on patient experience, service efficiency, and overall service
delivery, helping us to provide timely, high-quality care to a broader
range of patients.”
Dr Hannah Burke, Consultant Respiratory Physician at University
Hospital Southampton, said:
“One of the biggest challenges we face in COPD is identifying people
earlier and making diagnosis more accessible, particularly for those
who struggle to attend traditional hospital appointments or complete
conventional lung function testing. Taking diagnostics out into the
community gives us the opportunity to reach people at risk of lung
disease who might otherwise remain undiagnosed until their symptoms
become more severe.
“That's exactly what we've been doing through our community lung
health events, delivered in integrated neighbourhood hubs. These
events are designed to engage people at increased risk of lung disease
in familiar, accessible settings, and having a rapid, easy-to-use
diagnostic tool has been key to their success.
“N-Tidal Diagnose has fitted extremely well into this model. The test
is quick to perform, straightforward for patients and supports a
high-throughput approach, allowing us to assess many more people
during our community events than would be practical using spirometry
alone. It's much easier for patients to perform than spirometry and
provides an excellent first step in identifying people who may have
obstructive airways disease and should be referred for further
assessment.”
The funding supports TidalSense to accelerate commercialisation in the
UK, Ireland and Europe and support US market entry work, as well as
development of its diagnostic platform to new indications such as
asthma, alongside continued hiring — particularly a growing commercial
and operations team.
New investor Cross-Border Impact Ventures’ investment reflects a
mandate to back digital health technologies with the potential to
scale into frontier markets, a thesis that lines up with TidalSense’s
own ambitions to address COPD as a global health challenge.
Dr Erika Kennigonton, Head of Research and Innovation at Asthma +
Lung UK, said:
“Asthma + Lung UK is proud to support this vital research to speed up
respiratory diagnosis. Delays in diagnosis cost lives but there have
been no major breakthroughs to improve these tools in over two
decades. New approaches are desperately needed to make diagnosis
quicker and more accessible, so people can access support before
things get worse.
“Despite over 12 million people in the UK having a lung condition,
current funding for lung health research is on life support and too
many people are not even receiving recommended basic care to manage
their condition.”
Donna Parr, Managing Partner at Cross-Border Impact Ventures,
said:
“We look for technology that doesn’t just have a compelling story, but
a body of clinical evidence behind it. TidalSense has both, with a CEO
who has lived the problem she’s solving, and a product that’s already
live within the NHS healthcare environment, saving time for patients
who have waited years for an answer. It is also technology that can
improve access to appropriate treatment for COPD sufferers on a global
basis and especially for women who are often misdiagnosed. This is
exactly the kind of impact we want to make with our investments.”
TidalSense has deepened its senior bench ahead of the US expansion,
with Andrew Wheeler, Director of Market Access and Public Policy,
joining from NICE; Eric Mayes, Non-Executive Director, who was
founding CEO of Endomagnetics, the UCL spinout acquired by Hologic for
$310 million in 2024; and Donna Parr, who joins the board with more
than 30 years of tech and health tech investment experience. They join
a leadership team including Julian Carter, co-founder and Chief
Engineering Officer, who has led the technical development of the
CE-marked N-Tidal hardware devices since the company's founding.