ORIGINAL NEWS – www.accio.gencat.ca – 28/10/2019
The startup has developed a system that analyzes in real time air parameters (presence of carbon dioxide, temperature, humidity...) to determine the existence of pollutants harmful to health.
- Sens Solutions has received a grant of 75,000 euros in lost funds from ACCIÓ's Startup Capital line, aimed at early-stage technology startups.
- The startup, which has a pilot test underway at the Hospital del Mar, is also specialized in the detection of pathogens in the water to control outbreaks such as legionella.
The Catalan startup Sens Solutions has created an IoT-based sensor system to analyse the air quality of hospitals. Through these sensors, the start-up analyses parameters such as levels of carbon dioxide in the air, nitrogen oxides, ozone, as well as temperature and humidity, among others, to determine the existence of pollutants harmful to human health.
Sens Solutions has been a beneficiary this year of the Startup Capital grant from ACCIÓ, the agency for the competitiveness of the company of the Department of Business and Knowledge. The startup has received 75,000 euros that it will be able to allocate to finance the activities derived from the execution of the initial business plan, such as covering personnel costs, hiring services to third parties, investing in equipment and equipment, renting spaces or developing marketing and communication strategies. Interested startups can submit their application to access the 2019 edition of the Startup Capital grant until November 5 at this link.
Sens Solutions' system, called Aero-S3DP, uses optical and electrochemical sensors that analyze air quality in real time. The device collects information about the presence of possible pollutants and sends it to a digital platform that analyzes the data and makes it available to the user. Through machine learning algorithms, it allows to establish behavior parameters based on the data collected to prevent possible alterations of the air before they take place.
According to the CEO of Sens Solutions, Silvia Gómez, "air quality affects all human beings, which beyond health also has an impact on our physical and mental performance and can lead to genetic damage". According to Gomez, people with serious health problems, the elderly and children are more susceptible to the effects of this pollution. "More than 10,000 people die a year in Spain from different diseases caused by the air pollution we breathe, which means very high costs for the health system", he explains.
Currently, Sens Solutions is also working on a pilot test at the Hospital del Mar to analyze the air in operating theatres and waiting rooms in the oncology area to improve air quality and reduce the risk of exposure of patients to possible infections. "We offer quality control to reduce the risk of some types of infection in immunosuppressed patients", notes Gomez.
The aim of the startup, founded in 2016 and headquarted on the UAB campus, is to start marketing its solution in the coming months and direct it to different clients in the field of health and sport. Sens Solutions is also a specialist in solutions for the analysis of water quality and detection of pathogens such as bacteria that cause legionella outbreaks. The company also has the support of the EMPOWA project co-financed by the COSME program of the European Commission and executed by six regions and countries of the European Union (Catalonia, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Lithuania and the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany), which in Catalonia is promoted by ACCIÓ.
