Aerospec, Carewell, OptiZone and SaisiR Finalists of the PERL Prize

Four Swiss Health Valley start-ups selected from the 5 finalists in the 23rd Prix Entreprendre Lausanne Région (PERL): Aerospec, Carewell, OptiZone and SaisiR. Nearly 60 companies from the Lausanne region applied for the PERL 2025 awards. Only five have been selected for the Awards Ceremony, to be held on Wednesday 7 May, and only one will go home with the PERL Trophy worth CHF 50,000.

Aerospec – Analysing fine particles in real time

Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health. Fine particles, which are invisible but highly harmful, come from many sources and are complex to analyse. Based in Ecublens, Aerospec has designed an innovative machine combining hardware and software to collect these particles without altering them and analyse their composition in order to identify their source automatically. ‘At a time when legislation is calling for improvements, assessing air pollution and identifying the origin of fine particles is a major challenge for industry and public institutions,’ says Arthur Blaser, a partner at Aerospec.

Carewell – Digital technology for human resources in the healthcare sector

Switzerland is facing a shortage of medical staff, with 300 people leaving every month and 13% absent every day, complicating the management of replacements in healthcare institutions and increasing the stress on teams. Based in Pully, Carewell offers an innovative digital solution via a marketplace that optimises the use of internal resources and facilitates access to high-quality external resources. It also offers flexibility to carers, making it easier for them to stay in the sector. For us, winning a PERL would be an opportunity to gain high visibility in this region, which is close to our hearts,’ says Soazig Olivin, co-founder of Carewell. It would also be an opportunity to bring about a lasting change in the way replacements are managed, so as to have a positive impact on the shortage of medical staff.’

OptiZone – Using technology to prevent sports injuries

Cruciate ligament injuries are common among athletes and represent a threat to clubs. 82% of them are caused by dynamic valgus loading, which is a combination of ground force and knee alignment. Based in Ecublens, OptiZone offers an innovative solution with sensors that test ground force and knee alignment 2to assess risk, identify causes and provide personalised recommendations. OptiZone initially targets high-level sportsmen and women, and then all athletes. ‘It would be an honour to win such a prestigious award as the PERLs, and it would help us to develop and refine our product design,’ says Mina Baniasad, CEO of OptiZone.

SaisiR – Regaining more independence after a stroke

Every year, millions of people suffer a stroke, 25% of whom never regain the use of their arm. No effective therapy currently exists for these more severely affected patients. Lausanne-based SaisiR offers an innovative platform that reconnects the arm to the brain. Using software and a brain-computer interface, it captures brain signals to activate an exoskeleton, provide muscle stimulation and restore movement, with a positive impact on around 60% of patients tested. ‘Our aim is for healthcare professionals to discover our project, so that together we can build a form of rehabilitation that really meets patients‘ needs,’ says Claudia Bigoni, founder and CEO of SaisiR.

Evaluation by a panel of business and academic judges

Each year, the projects of the PERL candidates are evaluated by a jury made up of its chairman, Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, Municipal Councillor in charge of the economy for the City of Lausanne, and leading figures from the worlds of business and academia. The viability and economic impact of the project for the Lausanne region, as well as the maintenance and creation of jobs, were fundamental selection criteria, in addition to its particularly innovative nature. These strict criteria and the high standards set by the jury guarantee the quality of the competition,’ stresses Alessia Radaelli, Secretary General of Lausanne Région. What’s more, the 25 companies that have won PERL awards since 2020 are all still in business and still based in the region.

The public called on to vote

The Prix Entreprendre Lausanne Région consists of five separate awards, plus the Public Prize. The public can vote for their favourite project via social networks and online between 28 April at 6.00am and 4 May at 12.00pm. The audience in attendance on the evening of the Ceremony will also have their say and vote live for their favourite project.
On 7 May 2025, the ‘Lausanne Région Trophy’ prize of CHF 50,000 will be awarded.

➡️ Source: Lausanne Région