Developing Airglove V2 Technology for Peripheral Arterial Disease Healthcare (DATPADH)

**Public description**

Green Cross Medico, based in Hamilton, Scotland, applied for a Fast Start Innovation grant from Innovate UK to assist with the development of its unique and patented Airglove technology for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The company has spent over five years developing Airglove Arm, which delivers warm-air treatment to act as a thermo-vasodilator.

The first generation use of Airglove was to improve Difficult Intravenous Access (DIVA) cannulation. In the UK alone, over 32M cannulations take place each year and nearly one third require more than one attempt. Airglove facilitates DIVA cannulation, taking just 3 minutes to dilate the vein for improved access and is used in many clinical areas such as oncology, haematology, apheresis, infusion, PET Scans, nuclear medicine, plasma exchange therapy and radiology with proven 87.5% 1st time cannulation success in trials.

"Airglove has helped out with some really difficult cases where we would sometimes have to move to central lines" Nurse/Practitioner at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge

Having worked closely with NHS Innovation South East we were approached by Professor Philip Stather to re-develop the technology for PAD. An awarded grant will assist the company to develop Airglove Leg for self-management home therapy of patients with PAD. 200M people globally suffer with PAD, which is caused by a build-up of fatty deposits their leg arteries.

It can result in leg pain (intermittent claudication) and reduced mobility. Sometimes PAD can progress to critical limb ischaemia and, worst case scenario, leg amputation with a 20% mortality within 6 months of diagnosis.

The IUK Fast Start grant will fund the development of a new generation of internationally-compatible Airglove device for the LEG use with battery pack, disposable gloves, positioning the device for UK/International use.

Airglove LEG will improve patient outcomes and quality of life including their carers. It will also provide clinicians with an effective tool for the self-management home therapy of PAD if supervised exercise therapy (SET) is not available in their hospital trust or patients are not able to travel due to mobility.

Airglove will reduce costs for the NHS and other healthcare payers plus help increase the flow-through of patients helping to tackle the NHS backlog as outlined in the Health Secretary £36billion investment of "New treatments and diagnostic and streamlined surgical methods believed to result in more patients being seen to quickly and safely". Airglove will also create additional manufacturing, exports and employment in the UK.