PhD researcher and co-author Sudhaunsh Deshpande
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new low-cost blood test that could make it easier to detect Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage-helping patients receive treatment and support sooner.
Two studies, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials and ACS Sensors, show that simple, handheld devices incorporating molecularly imprinted polymer-based biosensors and powered by artificial intelligence (AI)-can measure key biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in the blood with accuracy similar to expensive hospital-based tests, but at a fraction of the cost.
A global issue
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 55 million people worldwide and is the most common form of dementia. Current tests, such as those used in specialist hospital labs, are accurate but expensive, complex, and not widely available. This limits early diagnosis-especially in local clinics, GP surgeries, and in low- and middle-income countries where resources are limited.
The new Liverpool-designed platform aims to change that.
Low-cost breakthrough technologies
In one study, researchers developed a sensor that uses specially designed "plastic antibodies" attached to a porous gold surface. This allowed them to detect tiny amounts of a protein linked to Alzheimer's (called phosphorylated tau 181, or p-tau181) in blood samples. The test worked reliably across different blood preparations and gave results that matched high-end laboratory methods.
In the second study, the team created a sensor built on a simple printed circuit board-the same material used in everyday electronics. Using a unique chemical coating, the device was able to detect the same Alzheimer's biomarker and differentiate both healthy and patient samples. It performed almost as well as the gold-standard laboratory test (SIMOA), but at far lower cost. These studies were performed as part of a UK Japan MRC AMED research project on development of Ultrasensitive, multianalyte biosensors for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
The device links to a low-cost reader and a web app that uses AI to analyse the results instantly, meaning no specialist training is needed to operate them.
Making testing accessible worldwide
Corresponding author and PI on the UK Japan (MRC - AMED) grant, Dr Sanjiv Sharma, from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, said: "Our goal is to make Alzheimer's testing as accessible as checking blood pressure or blood sugar. By combining low-cost sensors with affordable electronics and artificial intelligence, we can deliver accurate results for multiple biomarkers in a drop of blood in minutes-whether in an NHS clinic or in a rural health centre anywhere in the world."
The World Health Organization has called for more affordable, decentralised tests for brain diseases. These new Liverpool-led technologies bring that vision closer to reality, offering hope for earlier diagnosis and better care for people living with Alzheimer's disease and Dementia.
About the two studies
Advanced Healthcare Materials
ACS Sensors
Low-Cost Polyphenol−Polypyrrole Molecularly Imprinted Sensor for Point-of-Care Alzheimer's Detection
