‘Personalised medicine’ through ‘personalised medicines’: Time to integrate advanced, non-invasive imaging approaches and smart drug delivery systems

In this Commentary, the authors briefly discuss the status of efforts to individualize therapeutic interventions. They differentiate between the widely discussed idea of further shaping ‘personalized medicine’ approaches by using (new) biomarkers and (molecular) imaging techniques and the much less debated topic of ‘personalized medicines’: medicines, often carrier based, specifically geared to treat the individual patient optimally.An example where ‘personalized medicine’ is achieved by ‘personalized medicines’ is described: a smart drug delivery system is activated at the target site by non-invasive radiation (focused ultrasonic radiation, FU) while this spatial and temporal release process is guided and monitored by MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasonic, MRIgHIFU).