PneumaCare helps patients breathe easier
Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge will be the first to use the PneumaScan platform, an innovative non-contact approach to the diagnosis and treatment of lung and respiratory disease, developed by PneumaCare Limited.
Respiratory diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer now kill more people in the UK each year than heart disease. Lung diseases are the most common group of long-term illnesses and one of the primary reasons for emergency hospital admissions in adults and children.
Over 300,000 specialist lung function tests are carried out in the UK each year, and yet one in three patients is unable to use a spirometer, the existing technology used to monitor lung function.
Dr Ward Hills, Chief Technology Officer for PneumaCare, said, "Spirometers pose problems for many patients with lung problems. For example, small children have problems blowing into standard spirometers, because when they feel resistance, they stop blowing, thereby preventing an accurate reading of lung function. Additionally, some older patients can actually be harmed due to the physical effort required by current approaches."
The company has developed the PneumaScan platform, which uses video motion capture technology to monitor lung function. The device is non-contact, meaning that it can be used on babies and unconscious or critically ill patients - all of whom are unable to use spirometers. The device is simpler and easier to use for both clinicians and patients, and as it is non-contact, is less likely to pass on hospital-based infections.
PneumaScan also has uses beyond hospitals. Working with the Ministry of Defence, PneumaCare has successfully trialled a mobile version of the technology, which could be used by the military in the evacuation and battlefield treatment of casualties.
PneumaScan was developed in partnership with the University's Department of Engineering, Addenbrooke's Hospital and Cambridge-based design house Plextek Ltd. The device recently received its CE Mark.
Last year, PneumaCare became the first company to receive funding from the University of Cambridge Discovery Fund, one of three evergreen seed funds managed by Cambridge Enterprise, the University's commercialisation arm. Launched in 2008 as part of the University's 800th Anniversary Campaign, the Discovery Fund provides proof of concept, pre-licence, pre-seed and seed investments to new ideas with commercial value arising from University research. The Discovery Fund has an initial fundraising target of £5 million. For more information on the Discovery Fund, visit www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/campaign.
