Fig. 5. Future directions for the application of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in clinical use.

In the future, we expect that analysis of single cells from patients or patient-derived in vitro models will help to explore molecular mechanisms of diseases and define the spatial localization of rare cell types and cellular subpopulations emerging during disease. Furthermore, single-cell technologies will contribute to the discovery of new therapeutic targets. The efficacy of newly discovered drugs will then be tested in patient-derived in vitro models and monitored using single-cell technologies to define the cell‐type-specific responses of the patient to treatment, which can then be used to specify the best therapeutic strategy for the individual patient.