CRAASH Barcelona

In 2022, the fifth edition of CRAASH Barcelona was held. This acceleration program run by Biocat helps teams of researchers and entrepreneurs launch their innovations to market with support from CIMIT (Boston), the most experienced health accelerator in the world.

This year, the program targeted startups and projects from researchers and entrepreneurs born or living in Catalonia focusing on medical devices, digital health or diagnostics, with TRL 3-5 (proof of concept/initial clinical trials).

The program, which lasts 12 weeks, worked with 6 teams (Aether Tech, B-Triage, Heecap, Manina Medtech, pHill and RegeCure). The participants’ training sessions focused on attracting investment, patient engagement and  pitch skills, among other topics. In 2022, the training used a hybrid format, combining online and in person sessions.

New for this edition of CRAASH Barcelona, each team was assigned a benchmark investor to track their progress and have one-to-one meetings.

1. Aether Technology: has designed the Emily platform, a solution based on Artificial Intelligence and Edge Computing technology to automatically regulate and personalize the flow of oxygen administered to patients with respiratory issues. 
2. B-Triage: uses biomarkers to identify febrile patients at risk of death, regardless of the causes of the disease. This method is affordable, easy to use and gets results in just minutes with a drop of blood. 
3. Heecap: is a solution to prevent and treat diaphragm atrophy in patients on mechanical ventilation in intensive care units using personalized electrostimulation therapy.
4. Manina Medtech: the technology developed by this startup, named SEEDCHRONY, is a test using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to calculate the best time to extract eggs, therefore improving the chances of a positive outcome of in vitro fertilization procedures. 
5. pHill: this team is developing a pill that can test pH without a catheter, using a practical placement method that is more pleasant for both healthcare staff and patients.
6. Regecure: their technology aims to promote quick recovery from muscle damage caused by ageing, exercise or muscular dystrophy with an easy-to-use platform of micro-needles that administer nucleic acids locally, acting as a catalyst for muscular regeneration.

The 6 participating teams also attended Barcelona Week from October 24 to 26, where expert professionals from various areas of the sector shared tips for furthering the growth of their technological solutions and facilitating market access.