An at-home calcium tester is in development — and I’m celebrating!
Tralyte Health hopes to begin clinical testing on a device in 2027
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I’m often asked by fellow hypoparathyroidism patients how they can get an at-home calcium tester, and I’ve always had to explain that there wasn’t an option — until now. Finally, one is in development!
Saturday is Rare Disease Day, and I wrote last year’s Rare Disease Day column worried that a new administration would mean big policy changes to medicine, and that several projects would risk losing funding, including the development of a calcium tester. This year, the news is worth celebrating!
In hypoparathyroidism, or hypopara, calcium levels can change without warning. I can be out with friends on a weekend, and my arms and lips will unexpectedly fill with television static, or I might be on a vacation when I’m hit with a migraine so bad I can’t walk. Some days, I’ll wake with my hands locked into claws, or I might have to crawl to the toilet with the worst nausea of my life. Calcium is such a delicate electrolyte. When it’s too high or too low, the symptoms range from inconvenient tingling and nausea to life-threatening seizures and cardiac events.
But when I need to know my calcium level, I must go to a lab to have my blood drawn and wait for the results. Outside of business hours — a weekend or holiday, for example — there’s no alternative to an expensive and lengthy trip to the emergency room. My hypopara group chat is full of “Are my symptoms hospital bad?” and debates about whether one of us can wait until the next business day when the labs are open.
With damaged or missing parathyroid glands, the body’s calcium thermostat malfunctions, and the calcium in the blood must be supplemented. This is done with a combination of medications, such as parathyroid hormone replacement like Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), active vitamin D like calcitriol, and calcium supplements. Maintaining calcium levels day to day is a giant guessing game based on monitoring symptoms that don’t always follow a pattern.
Making calcium testing at home a reality
At the 2023 International Hypoparathyroidism Conference, researcher Xuewei Wang spoke of his goal of bringing a handheld, patient-use calcium tester to market that would be widely available and easy to use anytime. One of the bigger advancements in calcium testing occurred back in the early 1990s, with the introduction of i-STAT, a handheld blood analyzer that measures ionized calcium, among other things. This tester is most often used in hospital settings and is not widely available for patients to use at home.
In February 2025, I learned that Wang’s research was at risk due to funding insecurity at the National Institutes of Health. Desperate for an update, I reached out to the Hypoparathyroidism Association and was put in touch with someone on Wang’s team. I had the opportunity to meet virtually with Laurie Head, the co-founder and chief communications officer of Tralyte Health, which is working to bring Wang’s calcium tester to market.
Head said Wang’s technology has been peer-reviewed and lab-proven and is now awaiting a patent. Development of the first alpha prototype is underway, with the hope of completing it in time to show at the next Hypopara Conference in September 2026.
As currently designed, the tester would use only a small amount of blood — similar to a glucose monitor — and the results would be sent to an app within 15 minutes. That would be life-changing!
What’s next?
The next steps are crucial. Head said Tralyte needs to raise $250,000 to build the alpha prototype device. After that, the next stage involves securing funding to launch clinical trials that the company hopes to begin in 2027. The goal is to submit the device to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2028, aiming for priority review.
Tralyte has launched LinkedIn and Facebook pages, a website, and a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds to build the alpha prototype device. It hopes to connect with the hypopara community, raise funds, and advance the product to market as quickly as possible.
I will share updates on social media and in future columns. It’s wild to think that in just over two years, panicked group chats and hypervigilant symptom monitoring might be a thing of the past, thanks to an at-home calcium tester. Hope sometimes can be scary, but I’m holding on to so much of it this Rare Disease Month!
Note: Hypoparathyroidism News is a strictly news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hypoparathyroidism News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hypoparathyroidism.
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