'Digital Blood Testing' Now at Hand

Why It Matters

Continuous, non‑invasive drug monitoring could improve dosing accuracy, reduce complications, and accelerate the shift toward digital blood testing across healthcare settings.

Key Takeaways

• Wearable patch monitors vancomycin levels continuously
• DNA aptamer sensors replace traditional blood draws
• Clinical validation now primary hurdle before market launch
• Trials expanding to cardiology and emergency triage
• US regulatory filing targeted for next year

Pulse Analysis

The emergence of aptamer‑based wearable patches marks a turning point in point‑of‑care diagnostics. By embedding synthetic DNA sequences that selectively bind target molecules, these devices translate interstitial fluid concentrations into real‑time readouts, effectively turning the skin into a laboratory. This approach sidesteps the pain and logistical constraints of venipuncture, delivering minute‑by‑minute pharmacokinetic data that can inform dose adjustments for narrow‑therapeutic‑index drugs like vancomycin. As the technology matures, it also opens pathways for monitoring metabolites, hormones, and biomarkers previously confined to centralized labs.

Clinical validation is now the decisive factor. The Nature Biotechnology study demonstrated that the patch reliably mirrors blood‑level fluctuations of a critical antibiotic, offering clinicians a continuous safety net for dosing decisions. Early adopters in Australian intensive care units are evaluating the device’s impact on workflow efficiency and patient outcomes, while Nutromics prepares a regulatory dossier for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Success in these trials could set a precedent for accelerated approval pathways for wearable diagnostics, especially as the FDA’s Digital Health Innovation Action Plan gains traction.

Beyond antibiotics, the patch’s modular aptamer platform promises versatility across specialties. Cardiologists envision real‑time monitoring of cardiac biomarkers to detect ischemic events, while emergency departments could use rapid triage tools to assess trauma patients’ lactate levels. From a business perspective, the shift toward continuous monitoring creates new revenue streams in subscription‑based health data services and partnerships with pharmaceutical firms seeking adherence solutions. If the technology scales, it could catalyze a broader digital blood‑testing ecosystem, reshaping how clinicians collect and act on physiological data.

'Digital blood testing' now at hand

Wearable Patch Tracks Medication Levels, Hinting at a Digital Blood‑Testing Era

The success of a recent clinical trial of a wearable patch that tracks a patient's medication levels may indicate that the age of digital blood testing is near.

An international research team, which includes researchers from the University of New South Wales, developed and tested a lab‑in‑a‑patch device for continuous molecular monitoring with Australian diagnostics‑solution developer Nutromics.

In a pilot trial – the findings of which have been published in Nature Biotechnology – the patch was used to monitor levels of vancomycin, a last‑resort antibiotic that has traditionally been tricky to dose.

The patch, which is reportedly more comfortable than standard blood draws, uses synthetic DNA‑based sensors, called aptamers, to measure dosage levels.

Why It Matters

Following its success, Scientia Professor Justin Gooding from UNSW School of Chemistry points to the possibility of monitoring patients at any time to ensure they receive the best, safest, and most effective treatment.

When asked if this breakthrough brings us closer to what could be considered digital blood testing, Prof. Gooding told Mobihealth News:

“This technology is very close to that vision.

The main scientific hurdles to making the devices have been overcome, and the main engineering hurdles have been solved. The main challenges are [now] around clinical validation, so we feel we are very close.”

According to Prof. Gooding, there are no limits to what a DNA‑based sensor patch can detect. “Aptamers have been developed for molecules as small as lactate and as large as large proteins.”

The main constraint, however, is whether synthetic DNA can bind to the biomarker of interest in the right concentration range. The patch, he emphasized, is ideal for tracking biomarker or drug‑level changes in minutes or hours.

Aptamer‑based monitoring initially showed potential as a diagnostic tool when it was first applied in laboratory animals. According to Prof. Gooding, it took a team of medical practitioners, engineers, and scientists to resolve the previous challenges around sterility and safety of the sensor‑based patch.

What remains for now, said Prof. Gooding, is testing the lab‑in‑a‑patch in large‑scale clinical trials to get “an understanding of the relationships between interstitial fluid levels of the biomarker or drug of interest and blood levels.”

“The other hurdles are then more related to the business, distinct from the technological side of the devices.”

Trials in ICUs across Australia are underway while Nutromics is working to obtain regulatory approval in the United States by next year, UNSW mentioned in a media release.

Nutromics is also exploring potential applications of the wearable patch, including continuous monitoring in cardiology and supporting triage in emergency departments.