New COPD Testing Device Set For Oxford Community Trial

Most scientific instruments designed to carry out medical testing are located in hospitals, clinics or laboratories, but one innovation is set to be tested in the community in Oxford.

The N-Tidal device, designed and created by Cambridge-based tech firm TidalSense, is designed to make rapid diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a partnership with Oxford University and the Healthier Oxford City Network, it will be used in tests on 600 patients to test for COPD, the BBC reports.

Using AI technology and relying on just one breath from a patient, it is expected to be able to make an assessment with a 91 per cent accuracy rate, giving medical practitioners a reliable means of establishing who needs treatment for the condition.

CEO of TidalSense Dr Ameera Patel told the broadcaster they “desperately need to arm primary care doctors with accurate, easy-to-perform tests that enable the early and accurate diagnosis of patients, at the point at which they present with symptoms”.

This device has the “the potential to transform” the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, according to Oxford GP and lecturer at the university Dr Helen Ashdown.

At present, testing involves the much more laborious spirometry test, which can take up to an hour to provide the result, a gruelling process for any patient who is short of breath. In addition, such tests have to be carried out at clinics or hospital settings, whereas the small, mobile N-Tidal device can be used in a GP practice or even on a home visit.

In addition to COPD, spirometry tests are commonly used to test for other respiratory conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, or pulmonary fibrosis.

Around 1.2 million people in Britain have COPD and respiratory diseases are the third leading cause of death in England, which means any device that can make diagnosis easier will be particularly valuable.