Diagnosing lung conditions has traditionally been a difficult – and very expensive – task. Obtaining fluid samples from deep inside organs which are tucked away within our ribcage can’t be done without a highly invasive, risky procedure. And most sampling devices can’t tell the difference between fluids from the lung and ones from the mouth, often leading to unclear or misleading diagnoses.
As a result, millions of patients with common, chronic conditions such as asthma have been left waiting years for effective treatment, while millions of others have been hospitalised with pneumonias impossible to diagnose with current tests.
