Producing a Low-cost Medical Device for Diagnosing and Monitoring Lung Disease.

PulmonIR正在开发一种手持医疗设备，该设备使用红外（IR）光谱来非侵入性诊断和监测肺部疾病。该公司的第一个目标是慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）。一个关键目标是制造一种适合公共医疗系统使用的低成本设备。目前，英国有120万慢性阻塞性肺病患者，美国有1560万，中国有8700万。根据临床研究，PulmonIR的主要优势是能够在症状出现之前预测COPD恶化。与病情恶化相关的住院费用在英国（2012年）为10亿英镑，在美国（2010年）为500亿美元。

PulmonIR is developing a handheld medical device that uses infrared (IR) spectroscopy to non-invasively diagnose and monitor lung disease. The company' first target is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A key target is to manufacture a low-cost device suitable for use in public healthcare systems. There are currently 1.2m COPD sufferers in the UK, 15.6m in the US and 87m in China. Based on clinical studies, PulmonIR's key advantage is the ability to predict COPD exacerbations well before symptoms appear. The hospitalisation costs associated with exacerbations were £1bn in the UK (2012) and $50bn in the US (2010).