UpRight Science trademarks balance as sixth vital sign

UpRight Science has received a registered trademark for Balance: The Sixth Vital Sign. The registration supports the company's campaign to position balance measurement as a routine part of healthcare.

Granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, the trademark marks another step in UpRight Science's effort to raise the profile of balance as a health measure. The company argues that balance should be tracked like other established indicators, with clinicians recording a baseline and monitoring changes over time.

Its approach centres on US Food and Drug Administration-cleared software that uses sensors already built into smartphones to measure balance objectively. UpRight Science says the software enables clinicians to establish a patient's baseline and track changes between visits, rather than relying solely on in-clinic assessments.

The company also offers StayUpRight!, a free mobile app that lets consumers check and track their balance on a smartphone. It says the app uses a non-prescription version of the same underlying technology as its clinical software.

Clinical focus

UpRight Science argues that balance can show how different systems in the body are functioning together, including the nervous system and the muscles involved in movement. It says changes may emerge gradually and go unnoticed until instability or a fall leads to medical attention.

This position places the company's software within the broader push for earlier monitoring and preventive care, particularly in rehabilitation and in managing fall risk. By framing balance as a "sixth vital sign", UpRight Science aims to move it from a specialist assessment to a more routine part of conversations between patients and doctors.

Dr Sanjeev Sharma, Chief Medical Officer of UpRight Science, set out the case for routine measurement. "Blood pressure and other vital signs are useful because we establish a baseline and keep measuring. That gives physicians a way to recognize changes and address problems before they become life-threatening," Sharma said.

"Balance makes sense as the sixth vital sign for the same reason. When we know a patient's baseline and can follow their balance over time, we have objective information to help evaluate a decline and monitor recovery. We should be building that history before the first fall brings a patient into the office," he added.

Branding and awareness

The trademark also serves a branding purpose as UpRight Science seeks to build recognition around the phrase. The company says the registration supports its broader effort to make balance easier for patients and clinicians to understand and to encourage more routine quantitative measurement.

It recently highlighted the creation of a multidisciplinary advisory board as part of that strategy. Together, the advisory work and the trademark registration reflect a dual approach of product development and public awareness around balance assessment.

Terry Chabrowe, Chief Executive Officer of UpRight Science, said the registration was intended to reinforce that message. "This is more than a trademark. It represents an investment in giving balance the awareness and attention it deserves," Chabrowe said.

"We want balance at the forefront of discussions between patients and their doctors, with people asking about it and physicians routinely measuring it quantitatively. Establishing Balance: The Sixth Vital Sign as a recognizable message helps us advance that conversation and encourage people to take an active role in protecting their health and independence," he added.