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March 15, 2022

CSEM teams up with Tech4Eva to provide Technology Support

We are thrilled to announce that CSEM (the large Swiss RTO) has joined the Tech4Eva initiative! With years of expertise in MedTech development, CSEM will capitalize on its wealth of knowledge to help bolster the impact of the initiative in the global FemTech community. Like all new friends, we realized it would be nice for you to know a little more about the organization, so we spoke to Samantha Paoletti one of CSEM’s Research and Development Managers about its work, as well as interviewing her about becoming a Tech4Eva mentor.

Mission and vision of CSEM

The vision of CSEM is to turn technology into hope. CSEM believes that with smart technologies they can make the world a better, more sustainable place. At the start of each day, over 500 passionate employees enter the fold with the goal of keeping their partners at the forefront of technological development. To do this, CSEM joins forces with world-renowned industrial partners, universities, and institutes to cultivate for, and with them, innovative (micro) technology solutions that support humankind and the planet.  

Supporting start-ups

Since it was founded, CSEM has actively encouraged creativity and nurtured entrepreneurialism, and to date has launched over 50 start-ups, as well as having several successful buyouts from renowned companies. Right now, CSEM has a dedicated start-up booster program and grant, which helps match external start-up ideas to our in-house developed technologies. The grant can be used to mature technical aspects and/or the business side of the start-up idea. Additionally, CSEM supports start-ups in a more traditional role, providing them with access to our technological competencies and infrastructure while providing business development support and/or coaching.

Opportunities and initiatives at CSEM

Dedicated to technology transfer, CSEM has three priorities areas: precision manufacturing, digital technologies, and sustainable energy. Zooming in on healthcare, CSEM converges its expertise in precision manufacturing, digitalization, and life sciences, developing proactive solutions to the industry’s problems. Concerning human health, CSEM’s technology platforms address the evolving needs of the life science domain by utilizing the latest advancements in cell technologies, biomonitoring, and lab automation. Whereas their wearable medical device technologies are providing the medical industry with pioneering solutions that help improve patient quality of care and reduce healthcare costs. Capitalizing on powerful technology influences (IoT and AI, for example) these highly efficient devices are transforming out-of-hospital care, strengthening prevention techniques, and empowering patients and doctors alike.

Gender and technology development

Any device's operating hardware or software can be biased. Gender-blind technology refers to any technological solution that has been created without considering that the product can affect men and women differently. This means not only looking at whether a product is harmful to different genders but also if its overall use is biased towards one gender or another. The reasons for not taking gender into account are varied. In the best-case scenario, the technology will provide equally good and bad outcomes for men and women; in the worst-case scenario, it may produce only positive outcomes for men and only negative outcomes for women. This is true for every tech product whether it’s digital or not. In comparison, precision medicine has the potential to universally improve healthcare – no matter what your gender. As this domain grows, we will hopefully see global healthcare systems become less biased towards women.

FemTech landscape evolution

The FemTech industry is still quite underfunded, nevertheless, Samantha expects it to develop dramatically over the next 10 years. FemTech aims to meet women’s “silenced” needs, be these technological solutions for pregnancy and nursing care, women's sexual wellness, reproductive system healthcare, menopausal solutions, female oncology, and health in general. The market also includes a wide range of wearable and clinical devices, diagnostic appliances, products, platforms, software, apps, and services. While we have seen a rise in demand for these kinds of technological solutions, in part due to increased and easier access to knowledge, early self-detection, and improved treatment of diseases of women of all ages, the fact remains that powerful new solutions specifically targeting women’s health issues are not afforded the same amount of support as the established status quo. The time has come when women’s health should no longer be seen as a niche sector or secondary consideration.

Mentoring at Tech4Eva

“I have a strong interest and passion for personalized medicine and the development of novel technologies for precise, robust, and accessible healthcare. Within CSEM, I am also a diversity and inclusion advocate, promoting gender equality across our own business as well as in the external healthcare sector. I am looking forward to working with different startups to share with them the knowledge and experience of CSEM’s team, especially when it comes to roadmap definition and business model generation." Samantha Paoletti, Head of Research & Business Development, Lifesciences Technologies, CSEM

CSEM partnering with Tech4Eva

“Initiatives to promote gender fairness are rapidly growing in a range of technical disciplines, but this growth is not rapid enough for medical engineering. There is a need to establish strategic partnerships and join forces. CSEM strongly believes that together we can achieve more.”

For more information visit:

www.csem.ch

linkedin.com/in/samanthapaoletti