This innovative product aims to improve first-time cannulation success rates, a procedure crucial in 80% of hospital admissions which suffers from a reported 30% failure rate of accessing the vein first time and a 33-69% failure rate after insertion.

Access to veins can be difficult. Damaged, hidden, or fragile veins can result in long term care issues, leading to patient distress and discomfort, delayed or cancelled treatments, delayed discharge, and increased healthcare costs. As cannulas cannot be re-used after a failed attempt this also leads to waste, additional disposal costs and lost treatment time for patients and hospitals. Often this affects vulnerable patients such as the elderly or those receiving repeated courses of chemotherapy.

Airglove works by forcing warm air through a double-walled low-density polyethylene (LDPE) glove worn on the patient’s arm to dilate the veins. Initially developed in response to a 2018 NHS Innovations challenge, it has now been used in more than 140 hospitals across the UK, with plans under way for a commercial launch targeting markets in Europe and the US. It has been proven in trials to achieve 87.5% first time cannulation success, and an independent economic assessment by Health Enterprise East suggests it could save the NHS £31 million over three years in Oncology alone.

Airglove Medical founder Gio Benedetti said: “Airglove represents a breakthrough in what is a very traditional approach to cannulating patients which, whilst it works for many, can also cause distress to others.

“In addition to improving patient care it also offers significant cost savings plus the reduction in clinical waste disposal and increase in productivity for the healthcare community.

“Airglove is now in use in more than 12 clinical areas and offers a truly global opportunity for my Lanarkshire-based company. I would like to acknowledge the outstanding support we have received from Scottish Enterprise, which from the outset saw its innovative and commercial potential.”

The head of the lead investor group, Mohan Cashyap was so impressed with Airglove’s potential both commercially and in making a significant contribution to patient care that he decided his company Pulse Angels should lead the investment round, resulting in a great response among investors.

He emphasised: “Rarely do you get the opportunity to help in such a promising and solid proposal that will be a game-changer across a wide range of medical fields.”

Kerry Sharp, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, added: “Airglove Medical’s unique product is a prime example of Scottish ingenuity helping to solve global challenges.

“In addition to the excellent market potential of this product, it will also enhance the wellbeing of patients who suffer the discomfort and distress of difficult canulation, as well as easing time and financial burdens on healthcare providers.

“Life Sciences remains a key opportunity industry for Scottish Enterprise under our new missions approach, and our investment in Airglove Medical will help the company convert and scale its innovation into growth, delivering maximum benefits for Scotland’s economy.”

Scottish Government Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Life sciences provide life-saving therapies and contribute more than £10bn to the Scottish economy every year, supporting more than 42,500 jobs.

“We have set out measures in our Programme for Government to grow the sector and support Scotland’s international reputation for home-grown innovation. These include accelerating commercial clinical trials and speeding up the adoption of innovations within the NHS to benefit patients.”