Sensawear, a Spin-off of the University of Bern, launches the world’s first truly wearable tissue health monitoring system. Here, they explain the problem they are solving and why a startup needs more than just prize money.

People with limited mobility are at risk of pressure injuries. This applies, for example, to people in wheelchairs or people who are bedridden. Up until now, it was necessary that multiple nurses have to roll, lift, undress and visually inspect the skin of their patients every 2 to 4 hours and to reposition them in often uncomfortable positions in order to make sure that at-risk regions, like the sit bone and lower back where pressure is high, are sufficiently oxygenated.

There are several monitoring systems on the market that measure oxygen saturation, but these existing sensors are bulky and hard making it impossible for them to monitor tissue regions for the purpose of pressure injury prevention. Furthermore, these sensors are typically not designed to  focus on deep tissue measurements or to cover large areas. The USP of Sensawear is that these monitors are truly wearable.

«By truly wearable, I mean of course that a person can sit or lie on the sensor, comfortably, without the sensor creating a pressure point.»

«This is because our sensors are textile-based, soft, thin and breathable», explains Dr. Oliver Kress, Co-Founder and CEO of Sensawear. Their target customers consist of paraplegic users and hospital patients on the one hand and caregivers on the other. Both of them are eagerly awaiting this new monitoring system. Sensawear has already started gaining financial traction: At Venture Kick they won CHF 50’000.- and they were awarded 2 million CHF in 2019 by a joint Innosuisse/SNF BRIDGE Discovery grant. Congratulations on that! But why are they participating at STAGE UP, where a maximum winning amount of CHF 10’000 beckons?

«The research grant was about turning the idea into a commercially viable demonstrator. Besides the money, we were looking for support, feedback, and a chance to gain experience pitching and finding our way into the world of entrepreneurship.»

«We learned that the experience of participating in a competition and the valuable feedback and coaching opportunities that come with it are equally as valuable as prize money», states Oliver.

Besides Oliver, Prof. Dr. Ursula Wolf and Tarcisi Cantieni are also part of the startup Sensawear. They began working together in 2019 under the Bridge Discovery project. After two years of doing research together, they decided to build Sensawear. Together they overcame many challenges and enjoyed working together, so it seemed obvious to team up as founders. All three are excited about this new stage in their careers as entrepreneurs:

«As a researcher, it seemed like the opportunity to become an entrepreneur was diminishing the further my career was progressing. Having this chance to pursue entrepreneurship with such an incredible product and an amazing team is very exciting. We are learning new things every day, and the opportunity to make a real impact in people’s lives is remarkably rewarding.»

Sensawear
Dr. Oliver Kress
Prof. Dr. Ursula Wolf
Tarcisi Cantieni