FIT Impact: 3 life sciences projects awarded

The first cohort to benefit from FIT Impact is now known. This programme run by the Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT) and supporting low-tech projects with a strong social and environmental impact, has awarded grants of CHF 10,000 to ATIPIKEY, Impact Arti, NaviSanté, R.Unit, R2Home and thego.care. The six projects come from UNIL, HEIG-VD, H4 and EPFL.

ATIPIKEY: facilitating the inclusion of neuro-atypical people

Companies wishing to develop a policy based on diversity and inclusion sometimes lack the resources to adapt their services and environment to the specific needs of atypical people. However, atypical talents can add a great value when the environment allows them to develop and perpetuate their potential. Improving accessibility helps to reduce company costs, as well as improving the efficiency and comfort of all employees and customer satisfaction.
Stemming from the UCreate programme at UNIL’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation HUB, ATIPIKEY offers inclusion services by and for atypical people (in particular autistic people) in both public and private workplaces, in the form of a participatory process bringing together atypical talents and companies.
The two co-founders, Valentine Perrelet and Zoé Prisse, support companies that want to employ atypical profiles or make their products and services accessible by helping them to put in place conditions conducive to their inclusion. At the same time, ATIPIKEY is developing processes to help neuro-atypical people find jobs that match their skills.

NaviSanté: simplifying access to the social and healthcare system

Resulting from the Défi Source challenge and supported by H4, NaviSanté aims to make the health and social services system more accessible to all, particularly the elderly, allophones, people with high social needs or low health literacy.
The three co-founders, Kevin Morisod, Dang Khoa Nguyen and Gwenola Eschenmoser, have designed the prototype of a digital platform based on artificial intelligence technologies called Large Language Models (LLM), to provide quick and accurate answers to questions about the socio-sanitary system in Vaud.
By communicating in the user’s language (in text or voice recording), NaviSanté provides answers to questions about health insurance, practitioner qualifications and the availability of social services, as well as personal assistant capabilities to make it easier to book appointments, fill in forms, write emails, and make requests to the relevant parties.

thego.care: sleeves to protect catheters in patients’ daily lives

PICC Lines are catheters used for a variety of medical purposes, such as chemotherapy, antibiotic therapy, parenteral nutrition or blood sampling. Worn in the upper arm, PICC Lines must remain in place for the duration of the treatment (up to one year), despite the fact that they are not allowed to get wet, and the considerable risk of snagging and dislodging them while dressing, sleeping or playing sport.
thego.care offers an everyday sleeve and shower cover to protect PICC Lines and all catheters in general. Certified as a medical device in Switzerland and Europe, the “Cathego” sleeve offers safe, everyday protection. The “Logo Proof” sleeve, meanwhile, offers watertight, easy-to-use protection for showering, and limits the risk of infection. Accompanied by H4, Alain Mundt has already convinced several hospitals with thego.care solutions, which make life easier for patients and the work of caregivers.

Source: More information about the other projects awarded on FIT Press Release.