Nahtlos launches cooling garments on the market
St.Gallen - Nahtlos AG has launched cooling garments under the Duracool brand. With this byproduct of its medical technology focus, which has led to the creation of textile-based electrodes and semi-permeable textiles, the spin-off from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology can offer wearers hours of cooling in hot conditions.
The St.Gallen-based laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) has announced “with pride” that Nahtlos has successfully launched its line of cooling garments known as Duracool on the market. Founded in 2017 as a spin-off from Empa, the company has so far integrated a textile-based cooling technology into two Duracool products, which was developed by this Empa lab.
The ShoulderPad can be used at any time when wearers are sitting still. In contrast, the Performance Vest is designed for use while on the move. Demand for these products is high, according to comments from co-founder José Näf in an article of startupticker.ch, “whether for use in heat-intensive work environments such as road construction, in production facilities or for older people in nursing homes without air conditioning”.
These garments are a byproduct of the medical technology that the start-up, which is based at Switzerland Innovation Park East in St.Gallen, actually focuses on: textile-based electrodes for medical applications. Nahtlos launched these in the form of ECG electrode patches in August 2023.
Textile electrodes are conductive materials that are incorporated into textiles and used to record electrical signals from the body, for example to measure the wearer’s heartbeat, breathing rate and blood pressure. According to Nahtlos, textile electrodes can be easily integrated into clothing and worn for longer periods of time. For their production, Nahtlos relies on a second technology developed at Empa: The seamless welding of ultra-thin material and semi-permeable textiles, which are already used in the electrode patches. ce/mm