Tired of not seeing progress or any real applications for their research, five years ago the four founders of InnovaTec decided to team up and create a single company, InnovaTec Sensorización y Comunicación. In essence, the company is “a group of engineers and sociologists (social scientists) who provide real solutions to the world”, according to Malena Fabregat, manager of the social innovation area of the Spanish firm.

The company is essentially an SME that specializes in social engineering and designs applications for improving healthcare. It develops smart textiles (using micro-encapsulation; they are also fire-resistant and have sensors) and biomedical equipment. “We never undertake any work that does not address a social need or that does not represent an improvement in the welfare of the population”, says Fabregat.

It researches products that have a social application and sells its patents, but never sells the products that it patents themselves. Rather the company looks for strategic alliances in order to guarantee the distribution for the results of its research.

For example, the company has carried out a research project called Meliade, which helps to improve communications between patients and their families in critical care environments, specifically in intensive care units (ICUs) and resuscitation services.

InnovaTec’s development was based on a close personal experience. “The direct experience of one of our technical experts after one of his close family members was admitted to an ICU, highlighted the dramatic isolation that patients and their families face when a critical health problem arises", explains Fabregat.

The company’s researchers believe that patients’ isolation has negative repercussions and influences the environment that the patients share with healthcare professionals. They also believe that the increase in anxiety levels that occurs within the ICU structure creates a highly complex situation for the three main parties involved (the healthcare team, the patient and the family).

InnovaTec therefore believes that new information technologies can be used to improve these types of situations. The Meliade system is the result of several years of research. It enables increasing the amount of information that the family receives during periods when visits are not allowed, thus reducing the anxiety caused by a lack of news.

Meliade has an e-mail and mobile telephone text messaging service that allows the family to stay up to date about the patient’s progress during his stay, as well as the tests that are planned and any transfers that may occur. All of this is controlled by the healthcare personnel using the most appropriate tools for secure data exchanges.

Meliade System's screen view. Photo: InnovaTec

Tired of not seeing progress or any real applications for their research, five years ago the four founders of InnovaTec decided to team up and create a single company, InnovaTec Sensorización y Comunicación. In essence, the company is “a group of engineers and sociologists (social scientists) who provide real solutions to the world”, according to Malena Fabregat, manager of the social innovation area of the Spanish firm.

The company is essentially an SME that specializes in social engineering and designs applications for improving healthcare. It develops smart textiles (using micro-encapsulation; they are also fire-resistant and have sensors) and biomedical equipment. “We never undertake any work that does not address a social need or that does not represent an improvement in the welfare of the population”, says Fabregat.

It researches products that have a social application and sells its patents, but never sells the products that it patents themselves. Rather the company looks for strategic alliances in order to guarantee the distribution for the results of its research.

For example, the company has carried out a research project called Meliade, which helps to improve communications between patients and their families in critical care environments, specifically in intensive care units (ICUs) and resuscitation services.

InnovaTec’s development was based on a close personal experience. “The direct experience of one of our technical experts after one of his close family members was admitted to an ICU, highlighted the dramatic isolation that patients and their families face when a critical health problem arises", explains Fabregat.

The company’s researchers believe that patients’ isolation has negative repercussions and influences the environment that the patients share with healthcare professionals. They also believe that the increase in anxiety levels that occurs within the ICU structure creates a highly complex situation for the three main parties involved (the healthcare team, the patient and the family).

InnovaTec therefore believes that new information technologies can be used to improve these types of situations. The Meliade system is the result of several years of research. It enables increasing the amount of information that the family receives during periods when visits are not allowed, thus reducing the anxiety caused by a lack of news.

Meliade has an e-mail and mobile telephone text messaging service that allows the family to stay up to date about the patient’s progress during his stay, as well as the tests that are planned and any transfers that may occur. All of this is controlled by the healthcare personnel using the most appropriate tools for secure data exchanges.

Meliade System's screen view. Photo: InnovaTec