Innovation Award

Alterniity is an Augmented Reality based early diagnostic technology for older people at risk of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. The scientific team leading this MedTech spun-out from the ARTORG Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research of the University of Bern and is armed with 11 years of EU funded clinical trials for the development of this technology.

Mobility issues destroy autonomy by dragging people into a downward spiral of frailty and confinement. Gait Up offers a practical and accurate tool to measure and analyze human locomotion and physical activity. This innovative solution is a wearable sensor system and its dedicated algorithms developed through collaborations between research and clinics. Gait Up: a must-have for institutions requiring routinely easy and valid spatio-temporal gait performance, as well as an exclusive monitoring of physical activity!

GTherapeutics is a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) developing an implantable spinal stimulation system and robot-assisted training to rehabilitate spinal-cord-injured individuals. More than 15 years of research led to the development of fundamentally new treatment paradigms that restored voluntary locomotion in completely paralyzed animals with a success rate close to 100%. A cutting-edge rehabilitation platform is already operational in Lausanne university hospital (CHUV).

Insightness develops eye-inspired visual tracking systems. These systems allow smart glasses to display smooth augmented reality on a low power bugdet. Silicon Eyes technology, is inspired by the way our eyes process visual information and allows fast and efficient visual perception of the environment. The vision system detects characteristic landmarks (keypoints) and tracks their position within a few milliseconds. Neuromorphic engineering enables building artificial nervous systems on silicon chips.

Intento develops wearable neuroprostheses that promote brain reorganization and functional recovery in paralyzed stroke patients. Based on patent-pending innovations in neuromuscular electrical stimulation, our solution extends the applicability and benefits of the “Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy” - the most effective upper-limb rehabilitation approach for mildlyimpaired patients - to severely and completely paralyzed patients.

Neurix is specialized in stem cell technology and in vitro neural tissue engineering. Through methods alternative to animal experimentation, the company offers services to accelerate the development of novel neuro-active drugs. Additionally, Neurix's platform simplifies neuro-toxicity testing of drugs and environmental chemicals.

Qwane Biosciences is a technology development company that is located at the EPFL Innovation Park. Qwane's current products are Micro Electrode Array (MEA) biochips for in vitro recording and stimulation of electrical activity from neuronal cells & tissue or cardiac tissue, where we have become one of the leaders in this market. Qwane is also developing MEA-based solutions specifically tailored for applications in drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases.

The mission of ReHaptix is to design, develop and market novel technologies to improve assessment and treatment of patients with neurological and neuromuscular disorders. ReHaptix developed an app for the objective assessment of upper limb motor functions. The app is simple and intuitive, and can be used bythe patients themselves at home or at the clinic. ReHaptix tracks the patient’sprogress in few minutes and allows adapting the therapy to accelerate patient’s recovery towards its independence. ReHaptix believes that a precise assessment is the basis for an effective and personalized patient’s rehabilitation program.

SensArs Neuroprosthetics is an EPFL spin-off founded by Francesco Petrini, Stanisa Raspopovic and Silvestro Micera, who all have a long verified experience in peripheral nervous system interfacing and prosthetics. They invented SENSY, a neuroprosthesis that restore tactile sensations and diminishes the neuropathic pain in people with amputation or nerve injuries. The product is constituted by a sensorized skin which, through the implants in the residual nerves, delivers tactile information to the brain of the user that, hence, perceives the interaction with objects.

SmartCardia has developed a hand-held device that can sense the emotions of a person in a single touch. The Inyu device senses heart rate and activity, real-time breathing and the skin conductance, and combine these signals in real time to obtain emotion levels of a person. These measurement open a wide range of possibilities, from controlling light or music or other objects at distance with emotions, to introducing heart rate, or breathing in the control of videogames, orfor measuring fitness parameters in sport. The device also obtains body composition, such as fat, or hydration levels, which can be useful for athletes.

TimePath, a Swiss-based startup company aiming to create compelling immersive virtual reality content.

Xsensio vision is that a successful wearable technology will be enabled at the edge of the cloud by Zero-power device concepts. The mission of Xsensio is to innovate in wearable technologies in order to make autonomous smart sensingsystems a reality in everyday life. Xsensio's systems combine combining multi-parameter low power sensors, low powercomputation, wireless communications and advanced energy management schemes, possibly including energy harvesting and storage. By their quasi-continuous monitoring capabilities and wireless connectivity to Internet, these new smart systems will offer completely new classes of services to humans based on combined monitoring of human body and environmental parameters. The system wearability is a key aspect for the acceptance of this new technology in everyday life.