Therapeutic drugs benefit patients in many disease areas, including kidney disease, organ transplants, oncology, autoimmune disorders, neurology and mental health. While beneficial, therapeutic drugs require close monitoring to guard against toxicity and ensure efficacy.
Therapeutic drug monitoring, or TDM, typically involves frequent visits to the clinic or lab for blood draws and tests to check drug levels, which can become burdensome for patients. Remote blood collection is a convenient alternative to clinic visits. It allows patients to collect their own blood samples at home for mailing to the lab for testing. Clinicians can access lab results securely online to track therapeutic drug levels for patients remotely. Remote blood collection paired with virtual communications and other telehealth technologies can reduce or replace in-clinic TDM. Explore this page for information on how remote microsampling simplifies TDM for patients and providers.
Allergy treatment can include immunotherapy, which involves exposure to certain allergens in increasing doses over time to improve tolerance and reduce symptoms. Immunotherapy shots are given under medical observation for safety.
Autoimmune disorders can respond well to immunosuppressive therapy, including drugs such as methotrexate, sirolimus, and cyclophosphamide. Anti-inflammatory agents, such as corticosteroids, may also be used.
Cancer can be treated with targeted therapy using drugs that attack specific cancer cells, or with immunotherapy using drugs that stimulate the immune system to recognize cancer cells as foreign bodies and attack them.
Reduced renal function requires drug therapy for associated conditions. Since most drugs are excreted by the kidneys, drug dosage must be monitored and adjusted to avoid toxicity and ensure efficacy for patients with kidney disease.
Some therapeutic drugs act as mood stabilizers for mood disorders as defined in the DSM-5. Medications that help control manic or hypomanic episodes include lithium, valproic acid, divalproex sodium, and carbamazepine.
Immunosuppressive therapy is necessary for organ transplant patients to ensure their bodies don't reject the transplant. TDM manages levels of calcineurin inhibitors (tacrolimus), cytotoxic immunosuppressants and corticosteroids.
TDM is required for many patients on antibiotics like aminoglycosides or glycopeptides (e.g., vancomycin). Remote patient monitoring helps manage blood concentration levels and dosing to prevent drug toxicity and ensure efficacy. Patients can use Mitra® devices for remote TDM. They self-collect blood samples and send them to the lab for testing. This is an economical alternative to cold-chain transportation of plasma specimens. To learn about a study that used this approach:Read More
Therapeutic drug monitoring is important for cancer patients taking tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). These chemotherapy medications inhibit one or more of the enzyme tyrosine kinases. One example is rituximab, a targeted cancer drug known by the brand names MabThera®, Rixathon® and Truxima®. To learn how Mitra® was investigated as a blood sampling alternative that enables remote TDM of these drugs:Read More
Another study investigated the use of Mitra for remotely monitoring trastuzumab (Herceptin®), used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer:Read More
Drug interactions can occur between anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), so routine blood sampling for TDM is critical to avoid adverse interactions and side effects. Dosage adjustment of anti-epileptic drugs by TDM is also important, especially for the first-generation anti-epileptic drugs. Microsampling—the collection of small volumes of blood—is increasingly considered a valuable alternative to conventional venous blood sampling for TDM:Read More
TDM for patients on immunosuppressive drugs (e.g., tracrolimus, cyclosporine) usually requires outpatient travel for frequent venous blood draws at the clinic or blood draw center. However, remote microsampling allows self-collection at home, and shipping of blood samples to a laboratory for analysis. This remote TDM option results in a high level of patient satisfaction. Studies show that Mitra with VAMS technology enables validated lab testing and delivers accurate results that help the TDM care team make informed decisions:Read More
Mental health patients may be prescribed mood stabilizers, such as lithium or valproic acid. Other therapeutics include anti-psychotics like pimozide or clozapine. Patients taking these drugs must be monitored. Remote monitoring is possible with devices that allow patients to self-collect a capillary blood sample at home. To interpret capillary blood concentrations with current therapeutic reference ranges, conversion factors must be established with clinical validation studies, such as this one:Read More
Antiretroviral drugs are used to treat retroviruses, primarily HIV-1. Patients usually receive a combination of these drugs for highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). The drugs include delavirdine, doravirine, efavirenz, etravirine, and rilpivirine, among others. TDM is needed to monitor patients for adverse effects, strength of the immune system, and reduction of viral load. Ritonavir (RTV, Norvir®), is a protease inhibitor antiretroviral medication that is used in combination with others to treat HIV/AIDS:Read More
Join a growing network of leaders in science and healthcare who are using remote care pathways to improve the patient journey, as well as patient outcomes. We take pride in providing patient-friendly, quantitative remote blood collection devices that not only facilitate safe and convenient telehealth care pathways, but also enable clinical labs to report accurate results from capillary blood samples.
We believe that patient-centric microsampling is the wave of the future, and with our Mitra® microsampler with VAMS® technology, we are helping our customers ride the crest of that wave. With more than 100 publications testifying to its value in the clinic, lab, or field, Mitra microsampling devices are the trusted choice of clinical researchers, lab directors, physicians, patients, and healthcare decision-makers around the globe.
Learn how to take TDM out of the clinic with the ultimate resource library for therapeutic drug monitoring.
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When you are undergoing drug therapy, it can be stressful making frequent trips to the medical facility for blood draws and tests. Did you know you can collect your own blood samples at home using a finger-stick method? You can mail your samples to the lab for testing. Speak with your healthcare provider about using Mitra® devices and Mitra® Blood Collection Kits for simple at-home blood collection for TDM.
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Healthcare practitioners can transition to a more patient-centric care model for TDM and embrace telehealth by providing patients a remote option for blood collection & lab testing. At-home blood collection kits offer patients safety, comfort and convenience, while also engaging them more in their own therapy.
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Labs that process remote blood samples are in high demand these days, particularly for therapeutic drug monitoring. Consider expanding your lab services to offer analysis of remote, patient-collected dried blood samples. No phlebotomist is necessary for blood collection with Mitra devices, and clinical data generated from Mitra microsamples helps physicians make informed decisions in TDM.
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Clinical researchers investigating therapeutic drugs in hospitals and other medical settings can gather an amazing amount of data by analyzing dried blood samples for TDM. Our TDM resource library provides guidance and many case examples from researchers who have successfully conducted drug and toxicology studies using remotely collected blood samples with Mitra and VAMS.
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Remote blood sampling at home or on-the-go simplifies therapeutic drug monitoring, making it more comfortable and convenient. Patients taking therapeutic drugs, such as immunosuppressants, don't always need to visit the clinic or lab for blood draws and testing. A special program in the UK provides blood collection kits patients can use to collect their own blood at home or work at scheduled intervals. Patients mail their samples to the lab for testing, and timely lab results are accessible to the TDM care team remotely for follow-up.
Sign-up to receive more information on therapeutic drug monitoring and other areas of remote patient monitoring (RPM). We’re adding new resource modules to our series, which cover different aspects of RPM to keep you informed of changes and updates. Below is a preview of some of the resource modules we have lined up. Be sure to check back soon for updates via our main RPM page.
(Hydroxychloroquine, IGF-1, Methotrexate, Anti-epileptics, Anti-depressants, Anti-psychotics, Tacrolimus, etc.)
Therapeutic drugs benefit patients in a range of disease areas, including kidney disease & transplants, oncology, autoimmune disorders, neurology, mental health, and more. At-home blood collection allows patients and their care team to remotely track therapeutic drug levels for optimal efficacy—something that typically requires frequent follow-up. Remote blood collection keeps vulnerable patients safe at home and reduces unnecessary travel. You are currently viewing this module.
How can care teams monitor patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, and reduce the number of clinic visits and hospital readmissions stemming from these conditions? Remote monitoring enabled by remote blood collection helps patients and providers manage diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other conditions, supported by digital communications with the team. Coming Soon!
Substance abuse rates are soaring around the world, and addiction treatment specialists seek advanced methods for screening, treating and monitoring patients. Remote blood sampling aids in monitoring patients through all phases of addiction treatment and recovery. Coming Soon!
Pediatric patients with acute or chronic illnesses may dread the frequent clinic visits and blood draws required to manage their conditions. Children and their families appreciate at-home blood sampling and telehealth consults that reduce clinic visits and stress. Coming Soon!
Patients who live far away from hospitals, clinics and medical centers often defer treatment due to challenges with access, transport and scheduling. Care providers can offer at-home blood collection kits and remote patient monitoring to enable continuity of care. Coming Soon!
Hormone testing? Steroid testing? Athletic performance? Microbiome sampling? With portable kits for blood sampling and collection of other bio-fluids, general wellness screening, and even anti-doping screening, can be performed at home, out in the field, and on the go. Coming Soon!
(Immunoassays, Mass Spec, Clinical Analyzers, Liquid Handlers, etc.)
Labs can easily be optimized to process and analyze dried blood samples collected remotely with Mitra devices. Through our work with many labs, we have compiled information on immunoassays, mass spectrometry, clinical analyzers, liquid handlers, and more. Coming Soon!
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The Mitra Device is a single-use, non-sterile device used as a specimen collector and for the storage and transport of blood or other biological fluids. It is designed to be used by laboratory and healthcare professionals, or end-users as a container to collect and transport blood or other biological fluids. It is not specific to any clinical test, and is not for use in diagnostic procedures. Use of the Mitra Microsampler in Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) requires further processing including the establishment of performance characteristics and successful validation by the laboratory in a manner consistent with CLIA and/or other regulatory requirements.
The Mitra Microsampling Device is a FDA listed Class 1 exempt device, CE-IVD self-certified in the UK and EU, a Class I IVD in Australia, and registered with Health Canada. Neoteryx operates a Quality Management System (QMS) that is based on FDA good manufacturing practices, 21 CFR 820 regulations, and ISO-13485.
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