Arnold von Eckardstein MD
Professor and Chair

The Institute of Clinical Chemistry was founded in 1980 and is the largest institution of its kind in a Swiss hospital. It uses chemical, physical and biological techniques, mainly of body fluids such as blood and urine, to support the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various diseases. The high quality is testified by its accreditation since 1998.

Laboratory Medicine and clinical chemistry play an important supportive role in all fields of medicine by contributing significant information for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring. Clinical chemistry is interdisciplinary and integrates expertise in medicine, natural sciences, engineering, informatics, and management. The institute generates more than 2 million results a year. The spectrum includes more than 400 different parameters, some of which are unique in Switzerland and many of which need highly specialized and sophisticated technology for analysis and special expertise for interpretation. In the emergency laboratory of the institute, more than 60 parameters are analysed on a 7/24/365 basis with a turnaround time of less than one hour from laboratory receipt of samples to reporting of results. Basic research and clinical application research focus on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism as well as atherosclerosis. Furthermore, the scientists of the institute develop novel technologies, methods, and parameters for clinical laboratory diagnostics.

Areas of Specialization:

• cardiovascular diseases
• metabolic and endocrine diseases
• drug monitoring
• toxicology
• mass spectrometry
• molecular testing