A team in Israel is looking at how a patient’s genome – their entire genetic make-up – could be stored on a card that a doctor can swipe on to a computer to help choose the appropriate medication and the right dose.

AmpliChip CYP450

Eventually it is hoped new personalised drugs can be developed according to the patient’s genome.

Professor Ariel Miller, from Technion’s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Carmel Medical Centre in Haifa, is leading a team of scientists and engineers attempting to locate genes that will enable doctors to tailor drug therapy to each patient.

The project will help prevent side-effects and the resultant hospitalisation, and will avoid giving medication that is not appropriate.

Via Scotsman.

Image is the AmpliChip CYP450, the first test to allow doctors to tailor medication doses to a patient’s genetic makeup. The DNA chip contains millions of DNA molecules, which it uses to analyze genetic material from a patient’s blood (details).