Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Point-of-Care Technologies - Opportunities and Current Challenges

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious

Reviewing therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), the article contrasts today’s analytical laboratory capabilities and clinical interpretation with the growing promise of point-of-care (POC) devices. A narrative review identifies publications illustrating current trends in POC TDM development. Evidence suggests POC platforms for measuring drug concentrations in clinical samples are approaching market readiness, enabling portable rapid concentration testing. Integration with AI-based pattern recognition could improve drug identification and quantification, while dose adjustment still requires pharmacokinetic modeling, variability handling, and secure digital workflows.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Point-of-Care Technologies: Opportunities and Current Challenges Sandro Carrara, PhD, * Nicolas Widmer, PhD,†‡§ Francesca Rodino, MSc, * Lin Du, MSc,*¶ Myriam Briki, MSc,*† Laurent A. Decosterd, PhD,† Catia Marzolini, PhD,†║** Thierry Buclin, MD,† Yann Thoma, PhD,§ and Monia Guidi, PhD†‡†† Background: This review re-evaluates therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) by comparing the current analytical and subsequent clinical interpretation capabilities of hospital or community medical laboratories with the emerging potential of point-of-care (POC) devices, which could become increasingly utilized in hospital wards, day-hospital units, and outpatient clinic settings. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to identify publications that best illustrate the current trends in the development of POC TDM. Results: The latest scientiﬁc and technical literature indicates that POC devices for determining drug concentrations in clinical samples are approaching the market. Several technologies are now available to develop portable sensors capable of rapidly returning concentration measurements. Interfacing these methods with artiﬁcial intelligence-based pattern recognition may enhance the identiﬁcation and quantiﬁcation of drugs. However, once the drug concentration is accurately measured using a portable device, dosage adjustments require consideration of the drug’s pharmacokinetics and the pa- Received for publication April 22, 2025; accepted July 21, 2025. From the *Bio/CMOS Interfaces Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel, Switzerland; †Service of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine and Pathology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland; ‡Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland (ISPSO), University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland; §Pharmacy of the Eastern Vaud Hospitals (PHEL), Rennaz, Switzerland; ¶School of Engineering and Management Vaud, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland; ║Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; **Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, Institute of Translational Medicine; University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; and ††Centre for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland. Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, with the project entitled“Intelligent Platform for Drug Response in Precision Oncology,” grant number 200021_207900/1 . The authors declare no conﬂict of interest. Correspondence: Nicolas Widmer, PhD, Service of Clinical Pharmacology, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 17, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland (e-mail: Nicolas.Widmer@chuv.ch) . Copyright © 2025 The Author(s) . Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CCBY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. tient’s characteristics. This is accounted for in the mathematical approaches underlying model-informed precision dosing, which consider inter- and intra-individual variability and provide recommendations for treatment adjustments. These complexities necessitate the use of digital technologies, including graphical interfaces, machine learning approaches, and secure connectivity, to enhance the application of TDM in clinical practice. Conclusions: Promising emerging technologies have considerable potential to expand TDM to cover a wide range of drugs, making precision medicine accessible to many patients. Key Words: point-of-care systems, bedside technology, pharmaco kinetics, machine l

FAQs

What is the main goal of the review on therapeutic drug monitoring?

The review re-evaluates therapeutic drug monitoring by comparing current laboratory analytical and interpretation capabilities with the emerging potential of point-of-care devices in clinical settings.

What methods were used to identify current trends in POC TDM?

A narrative review was conducted to find publications that best illustrate current trends in developing POC TDM technologies.

How could point-of-care TDM and AI improve drug concentration testing?

Point-of-care devices are nearing market availability for rapid concentration measurement, and coupling these methods with AI-based pattern recognition may enhance drug identification and quantification.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Pentious