Recent Developments in Continuous Monitoring Diagnostics with Microneedle Arrays

Compared with therapeutics, diagnostic devices account for a relatively small proportion of healthcare expenditure (less than 10%) and yet timely diagnosis as well as continuous monitoring of molecular markers can have a major impact on disease outcomes. In particular point of care (or near patient) tests can empower individuals to become active participants in the management of their conditions, giving them and their medical support greater insight into both their conditions and their response to treatment. In an extension of the point of care paradigm, continuous monitors of biomarkers and/or therapeutics allow high frequency data to be gathered and patterns of variation to be analyzed in ways that are not possible with infrequent and sporadic testing. The advent of novel materials, fabrication methods and data analysis have opened the way to new devices, assay formats and molecular targets. In this paper we will discuss some aspects of our work in this area with a particular focus on microneedles for continuous, minimally invasive sensing and the use of nucleic acid aptamers in both electrochemical and lateral flow assays.