Diagnosis is a very crucial part of the treatment of any health related disorder. Without proper diagnosis, reaching the real problem is very difficult and guesswork based treatment methodology in the medical field can sometimes be very dangerous. The field of diagnostics is advancing and many new techniques have come up that are taking us towards precision medicine and patient personalized solutions. The technique that has grabbed a lot of attention in the last few years is molecular diagnostics. In simple terms, it means the analyzing of a patient is done at molecular level. Molecular diagnostics involve examination of the biological markers in a person’s genome (genetic code), testing of DNA/RNA sequences for identification of the disease, cellular testing, etc.
It allows the detection of pathogens in a human body as well as genetic testing. In pathogen detection, molecular diagnosis searched for signs of pathogen-derived nucleic acids in the patients and hence, helps identify the infection. In genetic testing, mutation of the cells, genetic disorders, chronic diseases, etc. can be diagnosed. Molecular diagnostics can truly revolutionize care by helping us move towards accuracy and personalized medicine.
Molecular diagnostics field has seen rapid and large growth in the past few years and it is predicted that it will continue to do so further. This owes to the advantages it brings, which include accurate, analytically sensitive, and fast detection as well as monitoring of a number of diseases. Today, there are various tools and technologies available for this and it doesn’t stop here, there is so much more to explore. Molecular diagnostics has not just enabled disease characterization, but it goes a step ahead and has enabled patient characterization.
Used particularly in the fields of oncology, infectious diseases, and congenital abnormalities, clinical pathology at the molecular level is improving patient monitoring and management. In 2017, the global market for molecular diagnostics was reported to be valued at $7.5 billion and this is expected to go up to $15.6 billion by 2024. With new infection and chronic diseases coming up every day, it has emerged to a very important revolution in healthcare. Molecular diagnostics has the potential to aid early detection and diagnosis of diseases as deadly as cancer and the further advancements in this field comes with a promise of a better tomorrow!
