Clinicians and scientists from the Medical University Innsbruck (MUI) and the University of Innsbruck have developed an innovative urine test to determine electrolyte balance. The intellectual property rights to the underlying technology have been licensed exclusively to the start-up UriSalt, which will further develop and commercialize the procedure. Ascenion, technology transfer partner of the MUI, negotiated the agreement.
Electrolyte balance is closely linked to a range of vital functions in the human body, including the distribution of fluids. A marked imbalance can be critical, and in certain situations even life-threatening. The new test increases patient safety and relieves pressure on healthcare systems, because it can be carried out any time easily and cheaply by the patient themselves, as well as in doctors’ surgeries, clinics and health centres. Previously, electrolytes could only be determined invasively, from a blood plasma sample. On 3 December, UriSalt received the Austrian start-up prize ‘Phönix 2018’ for its innovative research.
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