For many patients with chronic respiratory conditions, danger doesn’t knock—it creeps in
silently, often during sleep. When Mikesh Udani noticed how unpredictable night-time asthma attacks could be for children and elderly patients, he knew conventional care wasn’t enough. These people needed something better—something proactive.
In 2016, Albus Health began developing an intelligent, contactless device that could monitor a patient’s respiratory symptoms all night—without needing any wires, wearables, or behaviour change. They developed a smart bedside monitor that passively tracks coughing, wheezing, breathing patterns, and environmental triggers while patients sleep. All this data is sent to the cloud, giving
doctors critical insights without disrupting a patient’s life.
Their vision was to make continuous respiratory monitoring as easy as breathing. The
device had several features:
- 📡 Contactless and passive—no need to wear anything.
- 💤 Designed to work while you sleep.
- 📊 AI-powered for predictive insights on asthma, COPD, and more.
Like every health-tech journey, Albus Health faced resistance and complexity at every
stage:
- They partnered with major pharma companies to run trials and gain traction. One of their earliest validations came from Innovate UK and NIHR, both of whom supported Albus through grants and pilot programs in hospitals.
- Their device began proving lifesaving in patients with asthma, COPD, and even post-COVID complications—where symptoms could spike unpredictably.
Their mission attracted a powerful ecosystem of backers and believers.
- 🌱 Oxford University Innovation incubated their research and early trials
- 💰 F-Prime Capital and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) backed them with funding
- 🤝 Pharma partners helped validate the solution in real-world clinical settings
- 🧠 Advisory from both healthcare professionals and AI experts shaped their go-to-market journey
As Dr.Prasad Nagakumar from Birmingham Children’s Hospital said:
“For the first time, we have technology that can reliably monitor children while they sleep, without any disruption to their normal routine… detecting changes up to five days before an attack represents a potential paradigm shift”
"At i4 Mentors Foundation, we strive to help new startups with the ecosystem support that you need, to make your journey easier and more productive. We spotlight startups like Albus—those solving realproblems with deep compassion and cutting-edge tech, to share learning from their experience."
AlbusHealth is planning to expand in several domains. Their aim is simple yet powerful: to make continuous, preventive respiratory care a global standard.
- 🌐 Expanding into new respiratory and chronic disease areas
- 🌍 Doubling down on accessibility for underservedpopulations
- 🤝 Scaling throughpartnerships with pharma, NGOs, and hospitals
- 🧠 Refining AI models for better accuracy andtransparency
