Katrin Crameri is committed to improving the framework conditions for biomedical and data-driven research in Switzerland, advancing better research for better health. Katrin joined the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) in 2019 as Group Leader and Director of the Data Coordination Center of the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) initiative. In this position, she is responsible for the technical implementation of key milestones of this important research infrastructure initiative, aiming to establish a data-enabling environment for a secure and efficient secondary use of health data. One major focus of Katrin’s group is on FAIRification of (routine) data from the healthcare system and thus make them usable and sharable for research purposes, with a strong attention on data interoperability. In addition, Katrin is heading the BioMedIT Board and in charge of the establishment of Switzerland’s trusted research environment for a secure transfer, storage, processing and analysis of confidential research data.
A molecular biologist with a PhD in neuroscience and a master’s degree in public health, Katrin has long been engaged in biomedical research, research administration and the future-oriented development of Switzerland as a research location of biomedical excellence. Since 2015, she has been active in various national and international committees for an efficient and responsible use of health data.

Marc Gitzinger is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of BioVersys with over 10 years of experience in the biotech industry, having launched a university spin-off in the field of antimicrobial resistance and growing it into a multi-asset clinical stage company. Some of these assets will address significant unmet medical needs in infectious conditions such as tuberculosis and hospital acquired Acinetobacter infections. Marc has raised over $70 Mio in equity financing and secured over $30 Mio in non-dilutive funding. He has also established several important partnerships with a Big Pharma and other development organizations. Multi-award-winning Biotech CEO, having received amongst others the Swiss Technology Award 2011, Venture Kick 2009, and Venture Leaders 2008 and 2017 awards for his work in founding and advancing BioVersys. He is also President of the Board of the BEAM Alliance, a European association representing over 70 European and international SMEs active in antimicrobial research and development and Board member of AMR Industry Alliance. Marc is a young thought leader in the field of antimicrobial research and development. He is passionate about next generation antimicrobial therapies and leads a highly motivated team striving to bring life-saving antimicrobial therapies to patients in need. He is also co-author on several high ranked scientific publications and patents in the field.

aiEndoscopic combines artificial intelligence with robotics to make complex endoscopic procedures easier, aiming for autonomy.
Their first application is intuBot – an assistive device for easier and safer tracheal intubation.

We are an interdisciplinary team of engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors, and designers and we want to improve emergency care in low-resource settings. Low- and Middle-Income Countries lack a sufficient supply of ventilators leading to millions of preventable deaths and poor patient outcomes each year. To tackle this problem, we develop a low-cost ventilator for emergency use, transport, and short-term critical care. For the successful introduction into the market and a sustainable use in low-resource settings, we take a holistic, user-centered approach to design a ventilator that is intuitive to use, robust, and easy to maintain, even in harsh environments. We developed several fully-functional prototypes so far and received very positive feedback in user studies in Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana last year. (See video) Next to the medical impact, we are targeting to co-produce our ventilator locally to promote knowledge exchange, strengthen local economies, and build capacity.

DAAV as an EPFL spin off is on the mission to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities
and provide inclusion to simply enable users to have equal chances for enjoying their lives on the go.
At DAAV we are offering the most innovative robotic wheelchair solutions for different businesses.

Lighthouse Tech introduces a first-of-its-kind wearable mobility aid for blind and vision impaired people. Obstacle detection technology is seamlessly integrated in an eyewear frame to protect users from collisions with objects in their path. Our team with deep eyewear industry roots understands the importance of wearability, looks, and reliability in assistive device design. We are initially offering our eyewear frame as a collection of 2 sizes and 6 user-selectable styles. We will also offer a licensable electronics arm module to eyewear brands, helping them better reach vision impaired customers and gain on their social goals.

machineMD is a medical device company, founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the University of Bern. The company develops innovative solutions to radically improve early detection of brain disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and brain tumours. The goal is to bring the diagnostic quality of a highly trained tertiary care specialist to where it is most needed, in secondary and primary care.
Launching by the end of 2023, the lead product combines Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence to empower neurologists and ophthalmologists with reliable diagnostic data through automated eye exams. Development of this product is co-financed by Innosuisse in collaboration with Inselspital, CSEM and Helbling Technik. machineMD has successfully participated in market validation camps with the STO Seoul, South Korea, and Swissnex Boston.

Maven Health generates an accurate picture of personal metabolic health through our proprietary data platform which combines machine learning algorithms, data infrastructure and metabolomics. The goal is to empower primary healthcare providers to identify people at risk of metabolic diseases but who would otherwise be missed by the traditional healthcare system. Maven Health closely collaborates with primary care providers to finetune the specific targets and outcomes of their testing, making their outputs directly applicable to the current healthcare system.

The health analyses are generated from the metabolite profiles of saliva, which is collected non-invasively. Metabolites are measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, a technology that has seen reduction in cost and increase in sensitivity in recent years.

MY-SENSATION is a peerless non-invasive device revolutionizing neuromodulation for patients with diabetic neuropathy: a sensorized insole captures the information from the foot-ground interaction and translates it into electrical impulses delivered on the skin to artificially restore the sense of touch and decrease pain.

Nanoleq Ltd. (2017) is a Swiss pioneer company in the area of smart textiles. With expertise in material science, sensing, electronics, physiology, data science, cloud and mobile development. Nanoleq currently supplies several companies in medtech, workwear and sportswear through its ingredient brand bodyGuard. Besides the B2B activities, Nanoleq launched its new brand and product “Oxa”. Oxa is the first wearable breathing coach for better sleep and stress resilience. With high data quality in a garment, Oxa uses live biofeedback to guide users through short, yet scientifically backed breathing exercises.

NeuroPAT is a startup project from University of Zurich at preseed stage. We develop small molecule-based PET imaging biomarker for precision medicine in alpha-synucleinopathy. We address the unmet clinical need in the early and accurate detection of Dementia with Lewy body, Parkinson’s disease, and companion diagnostics for alpha-synuclein depletion therapy.

Stroke is the most common cause of neurologic disability and more than 8 million people require rehabilitation after a stroke every year. SmartVNS is a novel, neuroscience-​inspired rehabilitation system aiming to specifically target the core issue of the disability – the injured brain and the affected neuro-​motor pathways. It is a hardware-​software system comprising of wearable motion trackers and a form of closed-​loop, non-​invasive brain stimulation.

SmartVNS is designed to be accessible and intuitive to use, and has the potential for faster and more efficient recovery with fewer clinic visits and at a lower cost. The system will also allow therapists to conduct quantitative assessments and provide continuous, remotely-​accessible updates to their patients, enabling patients to undertake cutting-​edge neuroscience-​based rehabilitation even from their homes.

Spirecut is a pioneering MedTech company commercializing patented surgical instruments designed to treat two common hand conditions impacting one out of seven in their lifetimes: carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger. By leveraging the precision of ultrasound guidance, Spirecut’s surgical technique eliminates the need for skin incisions, requiring only a minimally invasive skin puncture. This innovative approach significantly reduces post-operative wound care, enabling patients to resume their daily activities without dressing on the operated area.

80SBio is a University of Basel spin-off revolutionizing RT-qPCR reactions for research and diagnostics. Our first product “UniqRT” is the first add-sample-and-load precision RT-qPCR system for research labs, which saves sample processing time and sample volume for researchers, while offering unprecedented accuracy.
Our prototype diagnostic device “QuantR Chip” is a lab-free and rapid RT-qPCR system based on the UniqRT technology for the detection of infectious agents, RNA biomarkers and antibiotic sensitivity in a low resource setting by a minimally trained technician. The use-and-throw chip format and the low sample management and preparation needs of UniqRT are ideal for small health care facilities, to help physicians working in developing economies make better medical decisions.