Signal-amplified, Real-time Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Device

Optimization of the prescription of antimicrobials is required to improve clinical outcome from infections and to reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance. Maximizing the effectiveness whilst simultaneously minimizing the toxicity of antimicrobial agents is the most important step in any effective treatment regimen, however, escalating antibiotic resistance, lack of novel antibiotics and growing complexity in patient populations has rendered many traditional antibiotic dosing regimens ineffective. Given the variability in these exposures across different patients, in particular critically ill patients, a one-size-fits-all treatment approach is increasingly problematic because the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) responses to the drug of choice within the patient populations can be wildly different. To compound the issue, some antimicrobials, such as aminoglycosides, have quite narrow therapeutic indices, and toxicity may be severe and irreversible. One method to improve antimicrobial dosing in individual patients is through application of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). In the proposed effort, Lynntech will develop a microfluidic, real-time, point-of-care, therapeutic monitoring device capable of detecting antimicrobial concentrations in human blood within clinically relevant ranges. This will produce convenient, high precision measurements, resulting in an increased likelihood of effective treatment and better patient outcomes.