Technologies for personalized medicine and smart health care networks

Personalized medicine constitutes an important paradigm shift for an improved health care system, requiring specific technologies for its implementation. Imaging modalities have to be further developed and adapted to enable combined diagnostics and targeted therapy (theranostics). Advanced sequencing technologies will be available to decipher the individual genetic profile faster, cheaper and more reliably. Microfluidics, (bio-)sensor research and lab-on-chip technologies will allow decentralized analytics of organ fluids and specimen samples (point-of-care diagnostics). Additionally, individualized sensitivity tests of drugs before administration can be conducted (e.g. anticancer drugs).