Swiss engineering and technology company Nanoleq develops key components for smart textiles, reshaping health monitoring based on smart textiles | Top 100 Swiss Innovators

Image source: Nanoleq

The Swiss engineering and technology company Nanoleq was founded in 2017. The company is committed to researching and developing key components (soft sensors) for smart textiles. These components can be comfortably integrated into clothing, capable of real - time monitoring of human biological signals, and can be widely used in the fields of medical, sports, and health monitoring.

Nanoleq is a spin - off company from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, co - founded by Vincent Martinez and Serge Weydert. Vincent Martinez holds a doctorate in biosensors and bioelectronics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and was a researcher at the ieLab of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Serge Weydert holds a doctorate in neuroscience from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Image source: Nanoleq

The smart textile market has a vast scale. According to McKinsey data, the global health market is worth $1.5 trillion. ResearchAndMarkets states that the global smart textile market was worth $3 billion in 2022, and it is expected to reach $13.6 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. To date, smart textiles that achieve functions such as heating, cooling, electrical stimulation, and biological signal monitoring through integrated electronic components have never reached a satisfactory level in terms of touch and appearance. Such products are usually bulky, uncomfortable to wear, and non - machine - washable, making them difficult to meet user needs and unacceptable to the market.

Image source: Nanoleq

Based on its expertise in soft electronic materials, biological signal acquisition and processing, and textile engineering, Nanoleq has developed key components (soft sensors) for smart textiles. These components are thin, light, and easy to use, can be comfortably integrated into clothing, can effectively monitor biological signals, and provide painless electrical stimulation. They can be used in the fields of medical monitoring, sports monitoring, and health monitoring.

Nanoleq has developed three core components, namely ElectroSkin, PhantomLink, and PhantomTape. ElectroSkin is a high - performance textile electrode. It uses a new conductive silicone technology and can be laminated and integrated into clothing using a hot press. It has first - class corrosion and sweat resistance, is less than 1 millimeter thick, and is highly elastic. It can withstand hundreds of washing and wearing tests and can achieve the minimum skin resistance. PhantomLink is a stretchable cable used to connect textile electrodes or other sensors. It has resistance to mechanical stress and high conductivity, is non - corrosive, and can be embedded in clothing through methods such as hot pressing or ironing. PhantomTape is a highly conductive elastic tape that can be stretched, twisted, and bent. It is washable, sweat - resistant, and corrosion - resistant. It can be directly laminated and integrated into clothing through a hot - pressing process and is suitable for smart clothing that does not require electrodes but wants to establish a reliable electronic connection.

Nanoleq's components are highly thin, light, and comfortable. They can reliably monitor biological signals such as ECG (electrocardiogram), EMG (electromyogram), and EEG (electroencephalogram) signals and provide comfortable and painless electrical stimulation for applications such as EMS (electrical muscle stimulator), FES (functional electrical stimulation), and NMES (neuromuscular electrical stimulation) under dry conditions.

Based on the above components, Nanoleq also provides complete smart clothing products pre - installed with physical sign monitoring components and application (Bluetooth, ANT+) reading devices, including heart rate monitoring clothing and four major vital signs monitoring clothing. The former is the only product on the market that can provide accurate heart rate monitoring in a dry environment without the need to wear tight - fitting clothing; the latter can accurately monitor and adjust heart rate (HR), breathing rate (BR), mental stress (HRV/BR), and body temperature (T) by tracking the electrocardiogram (HR/HRV), breathing rate (BR), mental stress (HRT/BR), and body surface temperature (T), which are regarded as the gold standard.

Nanoleq's components and finished products greatly simplify the production process of smart clothing, help customers effectively commercialize smart textiles, and can be widely used in the fields of medical monitoring, sports monitoring, and health monitoring. In the medical monitoring field, smart textiles can analyze personal health data, enabling doctors to conduct remote monitoring, handle major diseases in a timely manner, and improve the recovery speed; in the sports monitoring field, smart textiles can gain in - depth understanding of athletes' physical conditions, enhance athletes' physical fitness, or stimulate muscles to improve sports performance; in the health monitoring field, smart textiles can monitor the activity status of key human organs, provide customized feedback on personal mental stress and overall health, and help users improve their physical and mental health.

In December 2021, Nanoleq completed a Series A financing of 11.5 million Swiss francs, led by Capnamic Ventures, with participation from ZKB, Verve Ventures, etc. In November 2024, Myant, a leader in the field of textile computing and artificial intelligence - integrated medicine, acquired Nanoleq. The two parties plan to promote the transformation of the healthcare model from reactive treatment to preventive treatment and give priority to the monitoring and treatment of cardiac and pulmonary signs.

Nanoleq is one of the companies on the "TOP 100 Swiss Startups" list in 2022. The "TOP 100 Swiss Startups" list brings together the best Swiss startups and growing technology innovation companies. It is the most internationally influential benchmark list in the Swiss technology innovation field. Since 2011, this list has selected 100 of the most innovative and market - promising Swiss innovation companies and 25 Swiss growing companies with the greatest unicorn potential across Switzerland every year, covering fields such as life sciences, engineering machinery, robotics, information and communication, low - carbon technology, and food technology. The "TOP 100 Swiss Startups" and its series of brand activities are iconic events in the Swiss innovation ecosystem, representing the highest level of Swiss innovation and the forefront of international investment and financing.

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