What You Should Know
- Lucent Diagnostics (a brand of Quanterix) and Tempus AI have announced a strategic collaboration to integrate Alzheimer’s blood-based biomarker testing into routine clinical workflows.
- The LucentAD® Complete multi-biomarker blood test will be available for neurologists to order directly through the Tempus clinical ordering platform.
- The partnership leverages Tempus Next, an AI-enabled care pathway intelligence platform, to identify “care gaps” and identify patients who may benefit from testing based on clinical guidelines.
- Of the 7 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s, only a small fraction are currently evaluated for eligibility for approved therapies; this collaboration aims to narrow that diagnostic gap.
- The test is powered by Quanterix’s ultra-sensitive Simoa® technology, which allows for high-sensitivity detection of biomarkers associated with amyloid-positive patients.
For the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s, the journey to a confident diagnosis is often long, invasive, and fragmented. To address this, Lucent Diagnostics and Tempus AI are embedding precision diagnostic tools directly into the clinical workflow. By making the LucentAD Complete blood test available on the Tempus platform, the companies are providing neurologists with a non-invasive, guideline-directed approach to identifying patients who may be eligible for newly approved Alzheimer’s treatments.
The collaboration centers on the use of Tempus Next, an AI platform that acts as a “clinical radar”. It identifies patients within a neurologist’s existing practice who meet the criteria for biomarker testing but haven’t yet received it—effectively closing the gap between a patient’s symptoms and a definitive biological diagnosis.
Closing the Gap with “Simoa” Sensitivity
The technical engine behind this partnership is Quanterix’s Simoa® technology. Unlike traditional blood tests that may lack the sensitivity to detect minute levels of brain-derived biomarkers, Simoa is designed for high-sensitivity detection. This allows neurologists to identify amyloid-positive patients—those with the hallmark plaques of Alzheimer’s—using a simple blood draw rather than a more invasive spinal tap or expensive PET scan.
Everett Cunningham, CEO of Quanterix, noted that the goal is to make Alzheimer’s testing part of routine clinical practice without adding administrative burden to already overstretched providers.
AI-Enabled Care Pathway Intelligence
Integration with existing Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems ensures that these insights are actionable at the point of care. When the AI identifies a potential candidate for testing, the neurologist can order the LucentAD Complete test without leaving their current digital workflow. This seamless integration is designed to support earlier, more confident clinical decisions, ensuring that patients can access potentially life-altering therapies while they are still in the early stages of the disease.
Why This Matters
For years, precision medicine has been siloed in specialized research centers. Putting a high-sensitivity Alzheimer’s test directly into the platform neurologists use every day allows these companies to democratize access to the Medical Intelligence Layer of neurology. dentifying eligible patients for high-value therapies faster and with less friction improves patient outcomes and optimizes the entire clinical value chain.
