Pulse Angels has led a £500,000 equity investment into East Kilbride-based Airglove Medical, co-invested by Scottish Enterprise, to fund the commercial launch of a patented device that improves first-time cannulation success, with clinical trial evidence showing an 87.5% first-time success rate. It is one of the clearest examples we have seen of an NHS-originated innovation that is now ready to scale.
The scale of a problem clinical teams accept as normal
Cannulation is required in 80% of hospital admissions. A thin plastic tube is inserted into a vein to administer medication, fluids, or to take blood samples. It is one of the most frequently performed clinical procedures in the NHS and, despite that frequency, it fails at a remarkable rate.
First-time access fails in around 30% of cases. After insertion, failure rates range from 33% to 69%. That second figure is the more significant one. A failed first stick is immediately apparent. A post-insertion failure means the cannula was placed, registered as successful, and then failed in use, requiring its removal, a new insertion attempt, and often a delay or cancellation of the patient's treatment. The clinical and economic cost compounds at every stage.
For patients with damaged, hidden, or fragile veins, including the elderly and those undergoing repeated courses of chemotherapy, this is not a minor inconvenience. It causes genuine distress and, in the worst cases, leads to delayed discharge and increased length of stay.
How Airglove works
Airglove is straightforward engineering applied to a complex clinical problem. Warm air is forced through a double-walled low-density polyethylene glove worn on the patient's arm, causing the veins to dilate and become more accessible. There are no drugs involved, no invasive components, and no specialist training required beyond what clinical staff already possess.
It was initially developed in response to a 2018 NHS Innovations challenge, which means it was designed from the outset around real clinical workflow requirements rather than retrofitted for them. Products that emerge from NHS challenge programmes are tested against the practical constraints of ward-level use, not just controlled trial conditions. That distinction matters when you are trying to achieve adoption at scale.
The device is now in use across more than 140 hospitals in the UK, including Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals, Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, and Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, covering more than 12 clinical areas.
What the evidence shows
Airglove has been proven in clinical trials to achieve 87.5% first-time cannulation success. An independent economic assessment by Health Enterprise East, supported by Health Innovation East (the Eastern Academic Health Science Network), indicates it could save the NHS £31m over three years in Oncology alone. Scaled across the full range of clinical areas where cannulation is routine, the savings potential is considerably larger.
Cannulation failure is one of the most underreported cost drivers in acute care. When 80% of inpatients need a cannula and a substantial proportion of attempts fail, the aggregate burden on clinical time, consumables disposal, and patient throughput is enormous. It is largely absorbed invisibly into clinical routine. Airglove makes that burden quantifiable and, crucially, avoidable.
As Airglove Medical founder Gio Benedetti explains:
"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."
Why we invested
Our investment thesis at Pulse Angels is straightforward: clinical credibility, a clear commercialisation pathway, and a team that understands the space it is operating in. Airglove meets all three.
The product has NHS adoption at scale, an established safety profile, and a compelling economic argument that speaks directly to the pressures trust procurement teams face. It has a defined expansion plan into European and US markets. And because it originated from an NHS challenge programme, it carries a level of clinical buy-in that is genuinely difficult to replicate through commercial channels alone. Generalist investors often underestimate how much that provenance is worth.
Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, reflects on the investment:
"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 provided the broader context:
"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."
For Pulse Angels, this is precisely the kind of investment the syndicate exists to make:
"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."
Pulse Angels is a UK-based healthcare angel syndicate investing £50k–£500k in pre-seed and seed-stage HealthTech and MedTech companies. If you are a founder or co-investor interested in our portfolio, get in touch.