Parallel development
Science, clinical evidence, regulatory readiness, market formation and system adoption begin together.
About DRL
Built from the coordination problem.
Diagnostics Readiness Levels was developed by José Pereira Leal to make a recurring practical problem visible: diagnostic programmes are assessed as though their science, evidence, regulation, market and system adoption move in sequence. They do not.
Origin
Why the framework exists
A technically advanced diagnostic can still be far from useful, adoptable or sustainable.
Across company-building, diagnostic development, evaluation and health-system work, the same imbalance recurs: one dimension becomes legible while the others remain implicit. The resulting maturity claim is easy to communicate but hard to trust.
DRL was created as a common operating language for multidisciplinary teams. Its conceptual starting point appeared in Precision Diagnostics: A Founder’s Journey (2025), then developed into the five-stream, thirteen-level framework released here.
About the book →Principles
What DRL is intended to preserve
These principles guide the framework as its detailed instrument evolves.
Evidence over confidence
A gate is anchored in an artefact that can be inspected, not only in a team’s self-assessment.
Constraints made visible
The profile should reveal the bottleneck without hiding stronger or weaker streams.
Traceable evolution
Versions, changes, evidence and limitations should remain explicit as the framework develops.