World first for clinical trial of skin patch to monitor therapeutic drugs in real time

Patches

Source: © Marsilea A Booth et al/Springer Nature America 2026

Sensor could soon help doctors to prevent overdoses of drugs

The world’s first clinical trial of a sensor that can monitor drug concentrations in a patient in real time has reported back. The small-scale clinical trial used patches that accurately recorded the concentration of the antibiotic vancomycin in the dermal interstitial fluid at five-minute intervals. This technology could soon be helping doctors monitor drug levels in a patient to prevent serious side-effects.