Siemens Healthineers today announced the availability of the fully automated Atelica IM Phosphorylated Tau 217 (pTau217) and Atelica IM Brain-Derived Tau (BDTau) assays, expanding its offering for brain health research. 1. Approximately 10 million people are newly diagnosed with dementia each year worldwide2. Although Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, accounting for 60-70% of cases, over time more people will develop Alzheimer’s disease as these people are negatively affected and become dependent on others for their care.2.
The Siemens Healthineers blood test provides researchers with a chemiluminescent immunoassay that provides quantitative measurements of brain-derived phosphorylated tau-217 (p-tau217) and brain-derived tau (BD tau) and is performed on widely installed Atellica Solution IM and Atellica CI analyzers. Blood-based biomarker testing offers a less invasive method compared to cerebrospinal fluid testing, which requires a lumbar puncture.
Siemens Healthineers is focused on expanding researchers’ access to blood tests that can reduce the burden of invasive testing to better understand these diseases and help address the growing societal impact of neurodegenerative diseases.. Our Atellica IM device provides the high sensitivity needed to detect neurological biomarkers in the blood. ”
Jim Freeman, Head of Diagnostic Core Lab Solutions Research and Development, Siemens Healthineers
“Analyzer engineering is critical to amplifying the signals needed to use blood tests and get reliable results.” said Henrik Zetterberg, MD, an internationally renowned neuroscientist known for his pioneering work on biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. “Blood tests are much easier for both patients and doctors. They can scale up testing, track patients, or even prepare a portfolio of biomarkers.”
Contributing to scientific innovation
Siemens Healthineers is participating in several research collaborations to advance early detection and characterization of neurological diseases using p-tau217 and BD tau biomarkers.3-5. In particular, multi-cohort research studies are underway in collaboration with PREDICTOM, ACCESS-AD, and Banner Sun Health Research Institute.
“We value the opportunity to collaborate with leading diagnostic companies to advance the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, and this is a great example.” “We’re thrilled to be working with Dr. Nicholas Ashton, senior director of the Fluid Biomarker Program at Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Arizona. “We are working to validate the clinical utility of the plasma P-TAU217 biomarker across different patient populations to facilitate early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Our findings appear to support the promise of this Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarker in clinical practice. We look forward to further advancing this research.”
Other brain health biomarkers
In addition to the Atellica IM pTau217 and Atellica IM BDTau RUO assays, Siemens Healthineers offers assays (CE marked).6 Helps predict risk of future multiple sclerosis disease activity. Apolipoprotein E-ε4 (ApoE-ε4) is a protein involved in fat metabolism and is a subtype thought to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular disease. Researchers can get the latest information about these services
