Siemens Healthineers launches brain health research portfolio with first biomarker assays now available

Siemens Healthineers announced today its offerings for brain health research are expanding, with the brain-derived, fully automated Atellica IM Phosphorylated tau 217 (pTau217) and Atellica IM Brain Derived Tau (BDTau) assays now available for 1. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases of dementia diagnosed worldwide2. Alzheimer's disease is the most common, contributing to 60-70 % of cases, though it affects many more people over time as these individuals become adversely impacted and increasingly dependent on others for their care2.

The blood tests from Siemens Healthineers offer researchers chemiluminescent immunoassays to provide a quantitative measurement of brain-derived phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) and Brain Derived Tau (BD tau) and are run on the widely installed Atellica Solution IM and Atellica CI Analyzers. Blood-based biomarker testing offers a less-invasive method compared to cerebrospinal fluid which requires a lumbar puncture.

Siemens Healthineers is laser focused on expanding researchers' access to blood testing that can reduce the burden of invasive testing to better understand these diseases and help address the growing societal impact of neurodegenerative conditions. Our Atellica IM instrument enables the high sensitivity required to detect neurological biomarkers in blood."

"Analyzer engineering is very important for amplifying the signal we need to achieve reliable results using blood tests," said Henrik Zetterberg, MD, PhD, an internationally renowned neuroscientist known for his pioneering research on biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. "Blood tests are much easier for both patients and doctors - you can scale testing, follow patients, or perhaps prepare a biomarker portfolio."