Fresh funds take HelloMask into production

HelloMask was developed by a team of four researchers from Empa and the EssentialTech Centre at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) who are now running the startup HMCARE, headquartered at Geneva’s Campus Biotech Innovation Park.

The flagship product HelloMask is a transparent, resistant and eco-friendly medical mask designed to provide breathability and protection of caretakers from pathogens. Moreover, the mask addresses a critical healthcare need for better verbal and non-verbal communication since it ensures that the wearer’s face and expressions are completely visible, an advantage also for the deaf and hard of hearing that are dependent on lip-reading.

The startup has now secured one million Swiss francs in seed funding from philanthropic Foundations to fund the necessary processes to get HelloMask into production, including establishing industrial partnerships, developing the manufacturing process and acquiring product certification. HMCARE and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) will collaborate on the clinical testing of prototypes. The startup plans the market launch in early 2021.

“We’ve had significant interest in HelloMask already from people and institutions in different walks of life. Empathy and trust are proven to have a positive impact on a patient’s wellbeing and recovery. A smile and a look can often speak more powerfully than words. HelloMask makes that possible,” says HMCARE CEO, Thierry Pelet.

The receipt of the new funds adds to HMCare's current achievements and received funds. In 2016, the startup won the Debiopharm-Inartis Challenge receiving initial funds to support the project. Foundations such as the Gebert Ruf Stiftung and the Staub Kaiser Foundation also provided funding to the project.

(Press release/RAN)