Siemens Healthineers Unveils Fully Automated Blood-Based Biomarker Assays to Accelerate Global Dementia Research

Siemens Healthineers expands its research portfolio with automated blood-based pTau217 and BDTau assays to improve Alzheimer's and dementia detection.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 19, 2026, 7:04 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Siemens Healthineers

Advancing Less Invasive Diagnostics for Neurodegeneration

Siemens Healthineers has officially launched a new suite of biomarker assays designed to transform the landscape of brain health research. As global dementia cases rise by nearly 10 million annually, the need for scalable and accessible diagnostic tools has become a primary focus for the medical community. The newly available Atellica IM Phosphorylated tau 217 (pTau217) and Brain Derived Tau (BDTau) assays allow researchers to measure critical neurological markers through simple blood draws, significantly reducing the physical burden on patients who previously required invasive cerebrospinal fluid collection via lumbar puncture.

The Engineering Behind High Sensitivity Signal Detection

The effectiveness of blood-based testing for brain health depends entirely on the ability of laboratory instruments to detect minute concentrations of proteins that have crossed the blood-brain barrier. Jim Freeman, Head of Core Laboratory Solutions R&D for Siemens Healthineers, emphasized that the Atellica Solution and Atellica CI Analyzers utilize chemiluminescent immunoassay technology to achieve the "high sensitivity" necessary for reliable results. This engineering allows for the amplification of subtle biological signals, enabling researchers to follow disease progression and evaluate therapeutic responses with unprecedented precision.

Collaborative Validation and Clinical Utility Studies

Siemens Healthineers is currently engaged in several high-profile research collaborations to validate the clinical utility of these biomarkers across diverse populations. Partnering with organizations such as PREDICTOM and the Banner Sun Health Research Institute, the company is working to confirm how p-tau217 can be used for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Nicholas Ashton of Banner Sun Health noted that early findings support the promise of these plasma biomarkers, which could eventually move from the research phase into standardized clinical settings to help manage the 60-70% of dementia cases attributed to Alzheimer's.