The St George's Hospital and the Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research team claims that the test is 78% accurate.
The test watches out for biomarkers that indicate infection.
The method currently used for testing for TB means looking at a patient's sputum from the lungs under a microscope.
The effectivity of this method deteriorates in rural areas of developing countries, which can render it only 40% to 60% accurate.
Dr Delmiro Fernandez-Reyes, of Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research, said: "Current developments in mass spectrometry together with new statistical methods for pattern discovery are allowing us to identify biomarkers of infection.
He said, "Our work opens the door to further research into translating these findings to fast and reliable methods of detecting active TB infection that could have a major impact in global health.
Professor Sanjeev Krishna of the Center for Infection at St George's Hospital added, "The next stage will be to use the biomarkers we have identified to develop a cheap, accurate and rapid diagnostic test that can be used easily and quickly out in the field."
