Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a lightweight wearable patch that continuously measures drug levels under the skin and transmits data wirelessly to a smartphone in real time, expanding its use to monitor how drug levels change inside the body over time.

The device weighs no more than 6.7 grams.

In the study published in the scientific journal Device, KAUST researchers presented an integrated system based on a patch equipped with microneedles that continuously measures drug concentration under the skin and sends readings directly to a smartphone in real time, offering a new approach to monitoring treatments inside the body, rather than limiting measurement to physical activity and vital signs.

The device uses a set of fine microneedles to access the interstitial fluid just under the skin, and includes miniaturized electronics and Bluetooth communication technology to continuously measure drug concentration and display the data on a smartphone within a lightweight wearable platform.

The complete device weighs no more than 6.7 grams and combines in a single wearable system microneedle sensing technology, electrochemical biosensors, integrated electronics, wireless communication, and data display on a smartphone.

The researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of the technology using the drug vancomycin, a common antibiotic used to treat serious infections. This drug requires maintaining its concentration within a relatively narrow range to ensure its safety and efficacy, making it a suitable model for testing continuous drug monitoring techniques.

They also tested the platform through laboratory experiments and preclinical studies, and it succeeded in tracking changes in drug concentration inside the body over several hours. The results confirm the feasibility of continuous drug level monitoring using a wearable device based on a minimally invasive sensor.

Professor Khaled Salama, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering at KAUST, confirmed that wearable technologies have changed the way individuals track many aspects of their health, from physical activity to heart rate and sleep.

Professor Salama added that the research explores whether wearable devices in the future can also help us understand drug behavior inside the body. Although the technology is still in its early stages, it offers a new approach to continuous treatment monitoring instead of relying on sporadic measurements.

The technology still needs further development and clinical validation before being used in healthcare facilities. Despite testing the platform with an antibiotic, the researchers believe that the sensing technology can be adapted in the future to monitor the concentration of other drugs that require precise dose adjustments according to each patient's needs.

Monitoring many drugs with precise doses requires periodic blood tests followed by laboratory analyses. However, these tests only provide a reading of the drug level at a specific moment, and results may take some time to appear. As the team continues to develop the technology, future research will focus on extending the duration of drug monitoring and tracking its concentration, and improving the device's stability and long-term performance.