Report on the Saxon Innovation Exchange 2025 in Plauen

Saxon Innovation Exchange: Health and the food industry in Plauen

On February 13, 2025, innovative product and service providers met science representatives at the Saxon Innovation Exchange on the topic of "Health and the Food Industry" for a joint innovation showcase and cooperation initiation at the Plauen Cooperative State University.

Published on: 14.02.2025

"You are what you eat!" - Health and nutrition as a pillar of a resilient society

The health and nutrition sectors are currently undergoing significant change, driven by technological advances and a growing awareness of preventative health measures. Innovative solutions promise not only to improve healthcare, but also to optimize nutrition for a healthier life in our often hectic everyday lives.

The Saxon Innovation Exchange was a guest in Vogtland at the Plauen Cooperative State University on 13 February 2025 to showcase new products and services from the Saxon health and nutrition sector and to find scaling partners for the pitching entrepreneurs. Around 70 stakeholders from business, science and administration were inspired by the varied program and took advantage of the networking opportunities.

Future-oriented degree programs

The host, Prof. Dr. Katja Born, lecturer in food sciences at the Duale Hochschule Sachsen I Staatliche Studienakademie Plauen, began by emphasizing the official mandate of the Plauen University of Applied Sciences to conduct cooperative research and the associated opportunities for innovation in the region. In her keynote speech, she gave an overview of the future-oriented educational concepts in the fields of health and social management, physician assistance, food and hygiene engineering and nursing. She then discussed with futureSAX moderator Christiane Demmler the prospective changes to job profiles in the healthcare and nursing sector in the wake of the digital transformation.

The subsequent panel discussion revolved around current trends and future visions in the areas of healthcare, the food industry and the circular economy. It became clear that digitalization, innovation and sustainability are closely interlinked in the sectors under consideration: Gerald Höfer from the Paracelsus Clinic Adorf/Schöneck emphasized the importance of modern IT systems for efficient hospital processes. Dentist Dr. Conrad Kühnöl from Dresden added insights into the digital transformation of dental practices. Robert Herold from Central-Apotheke Falkenstein highlighted the opportunities offered by e-prescriptions and digital health applications. Matthias Schneider from Denkwerkstatt Food in Leipzig and Heike Quendt from QioFood KG in Dresden, on the other hand, highlighted nutrition trends that address the growing demand for healthy and environmentally friendly food. Anne Geißler, Cluster Coordinator of the funded Circular Saxony innovation cluster, and Marc Luginsland, from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU Chemnitz, used practical examples to illustrate the business model opportunities offered by the implementation of circular economy principles in Saxony. The panelists agreed that interdisciplinary cooperation, the use of innovative technologies and sustainability approaches are key to meeting the challenges of the future and successfully surviving on the market.

Pitches of the Innovation Exchange

The Saxon Innovation Exchange offers an excellent platform to connect suppliers and customers of innovative solutions and to establish sustainable cooperative relationships for company growth and scaling. Eleven representatives from business and science presented specific new product and service developments in short pitches:

App for mental health in the company

Christian Keller, Regional Manager from Leipzig, presented theMindanceapp. Developed by thepme Familienservice Group, it bundles all internal and external BGM offerings in one central location within the company. Employees have access to health services such as on-demand courses, coaching and live lectures that promote motivation, health and performance. A dashboard provides employers with insights into the interests, needs and mental fitness of the workforce, promising measurable success for companies.

Intelligent case documentation in psychotherapy

Julian Magath, research associate at the Chair of Artificial Intelligence at Chemnitz University of Technology, combines expertise in quality management and psychology. With "Therabox", he presents a pioneering solution that uses artificial intelligence to automatically convert therapeutic conversations into professional protocols - professionally, efficiently and instead of the previous effort for therapists. Thanks to local processing without the cloud or external servers, "Therabox" guarantees the highest data protection standards. This keeps the focus where it belongs: on the best possible patient care, while reliable documentation is created in the background.

Physio-Analytics - digital medical history form

Maximilian Sellner and Christopher Wink from Physio-Analytics in Leipzig presented a digital medical history form for physiotherapy practices that is automatically evaluated according to the flag system (red, yellow, blue and black flag) for physiotherapists and helps to provide precise and fast findings. This solution addresses the problems of conventional paper and PDF medical history forms, where relevant data can be lost due to their complexity. It promises time savings, standardization of treatment quality and well-founded therapy decisions based on precise analyses.

Workflow system for the healthcare sector

The early-stage start-up meddix GmbH i. G. from Bautzen pitched its innovative workflow system for the healthcare sector, which aims to relieve the burden on medical staff through maximum automation, standardization and patient involvement. According to the Managing Director, Frank Schiller, the system offers a unique combination of digitalization, automation and AI-supported process optimization specifically for the new requirements of the healthcare sector.

Digital dentistry with a cloud solution

An innovative cloud-based technology concept is transforming dental care through comprehensive digitalization. The solution presented by the dental practice Dr. Conrad Kühnöl from Dresden automates diagnostics, monitoring and therapy, shortens treatment times and reduces costs and bureaucracy. A high sustainability factor is achieved through virtualization, which efficiently replaces analogue technologies in dental practices and dental laboratories and creates a holistic workflow for practitioners, patients and health insurance companies.

Innovative breathing training

Dr. Thomas Mäder, Managing Director of Deep Breath from Chemnitz, presented an innovative breathing training system with a sensory everyday belt and an app. The solution promises to improve performance and health through deep abdominal breathing and strengthened respiratory muscles, while reducing stress and alleviating respiratory problems and secondary symptoms - such as snoring, shortness of breath and illnesses.

All-in-one food

Stephan Tuchscherer presented an innovative solution for health-conscious nutrition with his IQ bread produced in Leipzig. His specially developed bread recipes are characterized by a high nutrient density, low carbohydrate content and long-lasting satiety and offer a healthy nutritional alternative that provides the body with all essential nutrients, especially for athletes, diabetics or people who fast regularly.

Legume manufactory

Graduate ecotrophologist Heike Quendt presented the products of QioFood KG, which was founded in 2023. In the legume manufactory established in Dresden, the company produces healthy snacks from legumes according to a nutritional-physiological concept as a personalized, healthy nutritional solution for more fitness and performance and is planning a 24/7 nutrition vending machine as a sales concept.

Pork containing omega-3

Jan Gumpert, an innovative farmer from Erlau in the district of Central Saxony, presented Genießergenossenschaft Sachsen eG, which produces pork containing omega-3 under particularly valuable animal welfare conditions and using renewable energies to realize economic, ecological and natural cycles. This results from feeding the animals with linseed meal. Consumers are directly involved in production as members of the cooperative, which creates a link between consumers and producers.

Revolutionary waste recycling with insect larvae

The scale-upmadebymade GmbHpresented a pioneering solution for the recycling of organic waste. Using the larvae of the black soldier fly, the company converts residues from food production into high-quality proteins and fertilizers. This innovative process takes place in decentralized fattening facilities known as ReFarmUnits. The concept relies on regional resources and thus reduces transportation routes. Furthermore, existing waste heat sources from industrial processes are used for production, which limits the CO2 footprint of the products to a minimum.

eCovery - The physiotherapist for your pocket

Benedict Rehbein, Co-Founder and Managing Director of eCovery GmbH from Leipzig, presented an app that can be used to treat back pain and joint problems flexibly and individually from home. App users receive tailored exercises, clear video instructions and can keep a pain diary - developed by experts and available free of charge on prescription for lower back treatments.

At the exhibitor stands of the pitch participants and at the three themed tables "Digitalization in the healthcare sector", "Innovations in the food industry" and "Circular economy approaches for both sectors", the future trends and current challenges of the industry were then discussed in depth and collaborations were initiated. The dental practice Dr. Conrad Kühnöl from Dresden, DenkwerkstattFood from Leipzig and the Circular Saxony innovation cluster contributed to a lively discussion with their professional expertise.

Finally, the participants were given a tour of the laboratories at Plauen Cooperative State University to gain practical insights into research activities and knowledge and technology transfer in the fields of microbiology, food analysis and sensor technology and digital applications in the healthcare sector. Prof. Dr. Katja Born highlighted the dual study course "Hygiene and Health Protection" (B.Sc.), which combines scientific theory with practical qualifications in the fields of hygiene management, health protection and public health.

Take advantage of the networking opportunities

All innovative technology offers and applications from current and past exchanges can be found on the Saxon Innovation Exchange website. You can find over 500 innovative Saxon companies filtered by sector in our futureSAX innovation radar.

The next Saxon Innovation Exchange will take place on 25 June 2025, 11:40 am - 12:30 pm as part of the Saxon Innovation Conference at Messe Dresden on the main topic "EdTech: Innovative educational technologies revolutionize learning". You can apply for a pitch slot with your technology bid or technology proposal up to and including May 20, 2025!

Your contact at futureSAX

Heinz H. Truckenbrodt

Lead Project Manager

+49 351 79 99 79 82

+49 152 031 254 39

heinz.truckenbrodt(at)futuresax.de

To profile

After several years as an international product manager for a global automotive industry, Heinz Truckenbrodt completed a master's degree in industrial engineering and management at the Technical University of Dresden and Mid Sweden University with a focus on corporate development & innovation and lightweight construction. During this time he worked as a startup consultant at dresden|exists and as such became self-employed in the field of business development for startups. His affinity for digital technologies and business model innovations resulted in a thesis on the digital transformation of the automotive industry. In addition, he has been involved for several years as a volunteer in two associations for the promotion of culture.

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