Interview with Prof. Cristophe Hausswirth, CEO and Founder of the BeScored Institute and MASAK

Winner of the ESPA Innovation Award 2025 in the category Innovative Spa Research for the project Masak

1. Mental well-being assessment typically relies on self-reported questionnaires. How does your system add objective, measurable data to that picture? What specific parameters do you evaluate?

Traditional well-being assessments often rely on self-reported feelings, which are valuable but inherently subjective. MASAK bridges this gap by combining validated questionnaires with objective physiological and cognitive markers.

In less than 20 minutes, the system evaluates 12 scientifically validated parameters, including:
– heart rate variability (HRV) to assess autonomic balance and vitality levels;
– eye-tracking metrics (pupil dilation and saccade velocity) to objectively quantify stress levels and mental fatigue;
– cognitive tasks to measure key executive functions such as attention and concentration;
– digital pain mapping to localise and quantify pain areas (e.g. muscular or joint pain);
– sleep quality and perceived stress, assessed through validated scientific questionnaires.

This integration of subjective and objective data provides a comprehensive and quantifiable picture of both physical and mental well-being, turning well-being into something measurable, trackable, and actionable. 

2. Your development involved five years of research and 27 scientific publications. What was the most significant challenge or unexpected discovery during this process?

The greatest challenge lay in translating complex physiological and neurocognitive science into a simple, intuitive system that could be used in spa and wellness environments without compromising scientific rigor.

MASAK originated from intensive field studies with surgeons and operating room personnel, notably in robotic surgery. They spent nearly 1.5 hours of testing in the morning, 1 hour at midday, and another 1.5 hours in the evening, undergoing various evaluations with us – over four hours in total to capture essentially what the MASAK system measures today in under 20 minutes.

During these studies, we made unexpected discoveries, notably that a slightly over one-minute eye-movement saccade task could reliably discriminate mental fatigue in surgeons. Even more striking, this finding proved generalizable to a broader population.

These insights became a cornerstone of MASAK’s design, enabling rapid, rigorous assessments that are both accessible and practical for everyone.

3. Your system uses eye-tracking technology to assess mental fatigue. What insights do eye metrics reveal about stress and cognitive state that people aren’t aware of themselves?

Eye-tracking provides fascinating insights into our brain activity and underlying cognitive processes. Changes in eye movement speed and pupil dilation are directly linked to mental fatigue and stress levels. 

For example, stress triggers pupil dilation (mydriasis) through the release of the adrenaline hormone, activating the body’s “fight or flight” response, also raising heart rate, blood pressure and sweating. The maximum saccadic velocity, or the speed of rapid eye movements, is a particularly strong indicator of mental fatigue, sometimes described as the brain “overheating,” when it becomes harder to concentrate or perform cognitive tasks like writing an email at the end of the day. The more mentally fatigued we are, the slower our saccades become. The good news is that this state is reversible. It can be alleviated through relaxation therapies such as spa or thermal treatments, or through neuro-relaxation technologiesdesigned to restore cognitive balance.

By measuring these subtle, involuntary eye responses, the MASAK provides users with objective insights into their cognitive processes, which can greatly enhance personalised care programmes.

4. Out of all 12 tests your system runs, which single marker tells you the most about a person’s true health status? What does that reveal?

If we had to choose one, it would be Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV reflects the body’s ability to adapt and recover; it provides insight into the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, which unconsciously regulates vital bodily processes such as heart activity, breathing and digestion.

Contrary to what we might expect, the higher the HR variability, the better. A high HRV indicates a flexible and resilient system, while a low HRV suggests that the body is under strain or has a reduced capacity to recover.

Several scientific studies have shown that HRV is closely linked to life expectancy; people with higher HRV tend to live longer and maintain better health over time. An active lifestyle helps increase HRV, while sedentary habits, now well known for their harmful effects on cardiovascular and overall health, are often associated with lower HRV values.