The award-winning development enables continuous, minimally invasive monitoring of biomarkers in real time and opens up new perspectives for diagnostics and therapy.
© tecnet/Weisgram
Award for an Innovative Sensor Patch
A major success for Danube Private University (DPU): Head of Research Youbin Zheng (LiST – Laboratory for Life Sciences and Technology) was awarded first place at the prestigious tecnet | accent Innovation Award. The award ceremony recently took place in the Millennium Hall of the Provincial Government Building in St. Pölten in the presence of Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.
The award is presented by tecnet equity, the accent incubator, and the University for Continuing Education Krems, with the aim of advancing research results at an early stage toward application and commercialization.
The prize recognized a research project with strong practical potential: Zheng and his team developed wearable, microneedle-based biosensors in the form of a skin-like patch that is applied directly to the skin.
The system enables continuous, gentle monitoring of biomarkers—such as sodium—without the need for repeated blood sampling. Microscopic needles collect values almost imperceptibly from the uppermost layer of the skin and provide precise data on an ongoing basis.
“The award underscores Danube Private University’s commitment to consistently translating research into application,” emphasizes DPU Director Robert Wagner, MA. “Innovations like this sensor patch demonstrate the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration for the medicine of the future.”
The underlying technology is already protected by patents. It opens up new possibilities for the early detection of health-related changes and for more precise monitoring of therapy progress—an important step toward data-driven, personalized medicine.
