Use sweat as a source of energy to analyze this same sweat with the aim of preventing dehydration. All from a patch that sticks to the skin, similar to a band-aid, that incorporates a battery and a lot of microelectronics. This is the proposal of the startup Sweanty (sweat in English means sweat).
The origin of this emerging company dates back to a laboratory at the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics (IMB-CNM, CSIC). The inventors are Anna Llorella and Laura Ortega, who developed the technology as researchers in a working group led by Neus Sabaté and Juan Pablo Esquivel. The four scientists make up the founding team, to which Òscar Serret has now been added, who brings business experience to the startup.
Sweanty's plasters were patented and validated by the IMB-CNM, a process that has involved more than a million euros of investment. To test the patches, the researchers went to several marathons and the High Performance Center of Sant Cugat del Vallès.
In 2021, Sweanty's Band-Aids were emancipated from the IMB-CNM. Llorella and Ortega, the entrepreneurs who lead the startup, have established the company's headquarters in the Tecno Campus incubator in Mataró. “We are validating the product in athletes, especially runners and people who do triathlons, at the same time that we are looking for manufacturers with the aim of being able to go on the market in a few months,” explains Anna Llorella. The entrepreneurs have the help of the network of entrepreneurs and businessmen Netmentora and are closing a financing round of 180,000 euros, which is added to the 100,000 in aid from Acció and the financial contributions made by the partners.
Sweanty has also created a band-aid for diagnosing a disease called cystic fibrosis based on sweat analysis. This last line of business has been put on hold due to lack of financing and requiring longer validation processes, as it is a medical device.
