Can sweat drops tell you how healthy you are? Yes, they do, and they can tell you more than you think. In this new edition of SMEs in the Spotlight, we speak with Genís Rabost Garcia from Onalabs Inno-hub, a cutting-edge digital health company based in Catalonia. Onalabs is pioneering non-invasive, real-time health monitoring through wearable biosensors that analyse sweat. From elite athlete performance to chronic patient care, their solutions are redefining personalised health, and with the support of the I3-INSHAPE project, they’re taking ONASPORT to the next level across European markets.

Genís, tell us more about Onalabs.

At Onalabs, we’re transforming the way health is monitored: non-invasively, continuously, and in real time. Based in Barcelona, we specialise in digital sweat analysis, using wearable nano-biosensors to convert sweat into clinical-grade data. Our innovation allows us to monitor key biomarkers, like electrolytes, lactate, hydration and more, without needles, wires, or lab visits. What makes us unique is our ability to deliver medical-quality monitoring through the skin, enabling a new paradigm, all with maximum comfort and mobility. With the support of partners like the Barça Innovation Hub, and a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and health experts, we are redefining the future of preventive and personalised health.

Our mission is to improve people’s health and quality of life by making medical-grade monitoring accessible, comfortable, and actionable. Our vision is to lead a future where preventive, personalised health is the norm—empowering users and clinicians with data that’s easy to obtain and meaningful to interpret.

What kind of innovation does Onalabs offer? 

Our main products are named ONASPORT and ONAVITAL. They leverage proprietary wearable biosensor technology to serve both sports performance and healthcare sectors.

• ONASPORT is designed for elite athletes and teams. It measures biomarkers like lactate, hydration, and electrolytes during training or competition, helping to prevent injuries, avoid overtraining, and enhance performance.
• ONAVITAL addresses the healthcare market, providing continuous, hospital-grade monitoring of vital signs like oxygen saturation, heart rate, skin temperature, and blood pressure, all without intrusive equipment. It’s ideal for remote patient monitoring, especially for chronic conditions and elderly care.

What type of solution are you and your SME partner developing together in the framework of the I3-INSHAPE project? 

The I3-INSHAPE project was aimed at improving and adapting our ONASPORT product to the final commercial stage. From our perspective, at the moment of starting this project, we had a complete solution, from custom sweat sensors to a cloud platform, but there was still a lack of robustness and user friendliness required to succeed in the current market conditions. Therefore, our alliances during this project have been directed into both of these areas. Within the project, we have been aided in identifying the weak points of our product and establishing connections with other project partners, especially with València and Finland. From these initial collaborations, the improvement of our current cloud platform and data connectivity was found to be essential to direct the new. Therefore, with our SME partner, Idiolytics, we are exploring new ways to interconnect the data generated by our device. 

What tangible impact does the I3-INSHAPE project have on your project idea, from the development to market access?

The support of the INSHAPE project to the development of the ONASPORT product has had an impact from the moment we suddenly began to interact with multiple actors: from suppliers to customers, with a wide diversity. This, in a single group. Without the support of the project, it would be possible, but it would have taken us much longer.

Why do you think initiatives like I3-INSHAPE and its innovation hubs are essential for the future of sport and vitality in Europe?

The importance of these initiatives is based on the integration of synergies between technology, collaboration and implementation in the sports sector. It is to place all the actors together with a very specific vision: to implement innovation on a recurring basis in the sports market. 

What are your expectations for the future within the I3-INSHAPE project?

The long-term vision would aim to have generated feedback good enough to improve our Onasport product, and that its implementation by the different actors in different countries is attractive to various sports sectors. Although Onasport was originally designed for endurance sports, having obtained an excellent knowledge both technologically, as well as in data management, marketing, and market access,s would be of great satisfaction.

What’s one key takeaway you’d like people to remember about INSHAPE?

The greatest contribution or memory of the INSHAPE project’s impact will be related to the ability to access an integrated multidisciplinary approach within a group of people from different countries, with whom we interacted quickly and easily, with a common goal: innovation in the sports sector.

Onalabs (Flagship SME) & Idiolytics (Co-developer SME) teams