Biosensor development and validation as a key component of a portable device for the therapeutic monitoring of lithium. An Australian/Colombian collaboration

Lithium is a low cost, first line pharmacotherapy for bipolar disorder and is included in the World Health Organisation list of essential medicines. However, it has a narrow therapeutic window, meaning that it is not effective at low blood concentrations and is toxic at high blood concentration. Lithium pharmacotherapy requires patients to attend a clinical laboratory for regular blood tests to measure blood lithium concentrations. In Colombia, and other countries where access to a pathology laboratory is limited, lithium cannot be prescribed to people who live in remote or even regional locations. Our team is developing a small, portable device that can be used to measure lithium blood concentrations at point of care, giving access to this essential medicine people regardless of where they live. Additional advantages include that the device will provide immediate results, assisting clinicians to make immediate decisions, and the portability will give patients
more autonomy.