Edinburgh-based Novosound has been boosted by a £3.3 million investment to help develop its award-winning thin-film ultrasound technology.

The Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund led the funding round, investing £1.5 million (alongside £500,000 from the Foresight Scottish Growth Fund and £1.3 million from existing shareholders).

Novosound (www.novosound.net) was established in 2018 by CTO Dave Hughes and CEO Richard Cooper as a spin-out from the University of the West of Scotland, where Mr Hughes invented the material during his time as a Research Fellow.

Ultrasound technology uses sound waves with frequencies above human range to measure an object or image its internal features.

Best known for its use in maternity wards and other hospital departments, it is also extensively used in industry as a safe Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technique for revealing deformities, cracks or corrosion.

Operating in a high-growth market valued at £35 billion, Novosound has developed a thin-film core material that overcomes the limitations associated with existing ultrasound sensor solutions.

This has enabled the company to produce higher-resolution imaging, ‘fit and forget’ sensors that can operate continuously at high temperatures, and the world’s first truly flexible ultrasound sensor.

Mr Hughes said: “This investment is really exciting for the team at Novosound, as it will help us scale up our
operations and launch our advanced sensors for industrial monitoring and inspection.”