Personalised Medicine by using an Advanced Point-of-Care Tool for Stratified Treatment in High Risk Cardiovascular Patients (PoCCardio)

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide.

Besides established risk factors such as elevated blood pressure, blood glucose or lipid levels, circulating proteomic as well as genetic markers allow further stratification of patients.

While some of these markers can be measured routinely in low-threshold healthcare institutions, others require access to highly specialized and costly laboratory environment which usually can be found only within larger tertiary settings.

The aim of this project is to advance and tailor a point-of-care (PoC) tool, which was recently developed within the framework of HORIZON 2020.

Using cutting-edge lab-on-a-chip (LoC) and microfluidic technology, the tool will be further developed to measure qualified biomarkers and polymorphisms from finger prick blood, in order to help identify, classify and monitor cardiovascular patients at high risk.

The clinical validation of these biomarkers and the PoC tool will then be performed in a prospective, randomised multinational trial which will include only existing and approved pharmaceuticals.

Based on their specific pattern of qualified biomarkers, patients will be assigned either to standard pharmacological treatment, or tailored intensified treatment.

Data derived from the clinical validation study will constitute a rich source for complex AI-powered computational analysis to explore potential predictors for primary and secondary outcome parameters.

The trial will further provide the scientific foundation to support regulatory authorities in regard to approval of companion diagnostics, and recommendations for the prescription of drugs, respectively.

Overall, this project aims to improve care and treatment efficacy in CVD patients through an advanced biomarker-driven PoC-based personalised medicine.

To achieve these aims, a well-balanced consortium of five academic research partners and two SMEs has been brought together.