Sengkang General Hospital Introduces Siemens Healthineers Photon-Counting CT Scanner to Advance Diagnostic Capabilities

SINGAPORE, April 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) officially launched a new Siemens Healthineers photon-counting computed tomography (CT) scanner today, strengthening its imaging capabilities to enhance diagnostic precision and confidence for better patient care. This next generation technology delivers highly detailed submillimetre images with improved contrast using less radiation compared to conventional CT scanners.

How it works

The Siemens Healthineers NAEOTOM Alpha is a Dual-Source Photon-Counting Computed Tomography (PCCT) system that uses advanced photon-counting detector technology. Unlike traditional CT scanners, which convert X-rays into visible light before creating images, this new system directly converts X-ray photons into digital signals with lower radiation.

What this means for patient care

This means safer scans for patients, along with sharper imaging that helps doctors detect and better understand complex conditions. From heart and brain vessel enhancement to delicate internal ear evaluation, this technology opens new possibilities in precision diagnostics and patient care.

Professor Teo Eng Kiong, Chief Executive Officer, SKH shares, "This advanced imaging system demonstrates our commitment to provide value-based care – enhancing care while optimising resources – for our patients. Delivering clearer images with lower radiation, the photon-counting CT scanner helps to improve both the effectiveness and efficiency of care through early disease detection and intervention. With over 1,800 successful cases since November 2024, we are seeing how this technology helps us build a more resilient healthcare system that serves our patients' needs today and tomorrow."

Supporting healthcare professionals in decision-making

"We are delighted to witness the launch of our NAEOTOM Alpha Photon-Counting CT scanner at SKH— marking a significant milestone as the first of its kind installation in a public healthcare setting in Southeast Asia," says Ms Siow Ai Li, Managing Director, Siemens Healthineers Singapore and Malaysia. "With this next generation Photon-counting CT technology, we aim to empower clinicians and radiologists with sharper insights that elevate diagnostic precision and treatment across various clinical disciplines, such as cardiology, pulmonology, and oncology. This milestone reflects our ongoing commitment to shaping the future of healthcare and improving outcomes of patients in Singapore".

Key clinical benefits include:

"The high image quality helps us detect diseases earlier, more accurately and with greater confidence. We can now detect even small fractures or early signs of bone disease, enabling earlier treatment and better outcomes," explains Dr Mohammad Taufik Bin Mohamed Shah, Senior Consultant, Department of Radiology, SKH, who specialises in musculoskeletal imaging.

This press release and a press picture is available at

https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-sg/press-room/press-releases-sg/skh-introduces-pcct-scanner

The product/features mentioned in this press release is/are not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens organization for further details. The product and features mentioned in this press release are meant for healthcare professionals only.

Contact for media enquiries, please get in touch with:

Siemens Healthineers

Jo'an Chng
Head of Marketing, Sales Operations and Communications
Phone: +65 8328 1015; E-mail: jo-an.chng@siemens-healthineers.com 

Sengkang General Hospital

Geraldine Lee
Manager, Communications, Sengkang General Hospital
Phone : 6930 3159 ; 9060 8304 ; Email : Geraldine.lee.s.k@skh.com.sg 

Farah Rahman
Senior Executive, Communications, SKH
Phone : 6930 4475 ; 9686 7159 ; Email : Farahliyana.Rahman@skh.com.sg

Siemens Healthineers pioneers breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably. The company is a global provider of healthcare equipment, solutions and services, with activities in more than 180 countries and direct representation in more than 70. The group comprises Siemens Healthineers AG, listed as SHL in Frankfurt, Germany, and its subsidiaries. As a leading medical technology company, Siemens Healthineers is committed to improving access to healthcare for underserved communities worldwide and is striving to overcome the most threatening diseases. The company is principally active in the areas of imaging, diagnostics, cancer care and minimally invasive therapies, augmented by digital technology and artificial intelligence. In fiscal 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024, Siemens Healthineers had approximately 72,000 employees worldwide and generated revenue of around €22.4 billion. Further information is available at www.siemens-healthineers.com.

Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) plays a vital role in providing quality and accessible care to better serve the healthcare needs in North-Eastern Singapore. Offering a wide spectrum of specialist clinics and co-located with Sengkang Community Hospital, we are a part of the integrated hospital campus delivering multi-disciplinary and patient-centric care covering all major healthcare disciplines. Reflecting on our mission of achieving better health together, SKH's team of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals practise multi-disciplinary and team-based care. Patients who need longer-term rehabilitative care can be seamlessly transferred from the general hospital to the community hospital to receive the appropriate care during their recovery. We also work together with polyclinics, general practitioners, and other healthcare providers to ensure timely and appropriate access to specialist care for acute and complex cases.

Enabling residents in the northeast access to national specialty services nearer their homes, SKH has collaborated with KK Women's and Children's Hospital, National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Dental Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, and Singapore National Eye Centre, to set up satellite clinics within the hospital's Medical Centre. For more information, visit www.skh.com.sg

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Sengkang General Hospital Introduces Siemens Healthineers Photon-Counting CT Scanner to Advance Diagnostic Capabilities

First-of-its-kind panel includes brain-derived pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau assays to advance neurodegenerative disease research

FREMONT, Calif., May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Alamar Biosciences, a company powering precision proteomics to enable the earliest detection of disease, today announced the expansion of its NULISAseqâ„¢ CNS Disease Panel 120 to include novel assays for brain-derived phosphorylated tau (pTau) proteins. The enhanced panel now features brain-derived pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau (tTau) protein measured directly from blood samples—delivering unprecedented sensitivity and specificity for the study of neurodegenerative diseases.

Phosphorylated tau has emerged as a critical biomarker for early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. The new additions to the CNS Disease 120 Panel are specifically designed to detect brain-derived forms of pTau, overcoming the limitations of current assays that cannot distinguish between peripheral and central tau species. This allows for the simultaneous measurement of two suites of multiple pTaus and tTau species, one specific for brain-derived and one combining brain- and peripheral tissue-derived Tau species.

"Researchers have long sought a reliable, blood-based solution to track brain-derived tau pathology," said Dr. Yuling Luo, CEO, Founder and Chairman of Alamar Biosciences. "By integrating assays for pTau217, pTau181, pTau231, and total tau into our NULISAseq CNS Disease 120 Panel, we are enabling scientists to explore the full spectrum of tau pathology with exceptional sensitivity and throughput. This advancement is poised to accelerate biomarker-driven research and drug development in Alzheimer's Disease and related neurodegenerative disorders."

"The ability to detect brain-derived pTau species directly from blood represents a transformative step in the early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related disorders," said Nicholas Ashton, Ph.D., Director of Neurodegenerative Biomarker Research at Banner Health. "Until now, we've been unable to differentiate between brain-derived and peripheral pTaus in a multiplexed manner. Recent evidence has underlined the importance of being able to detect brain-derived pTau for greater specificity for AD. Alamar's new CNS panel offers an unprecedented opportunity to further improve the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utilities of these biomarkers, which will dramatically impact patient care and clinical research."

Alamar Biosciences remains committed to partnering with the neuroscience community to unlock biomarker insights that drive earlier diagnosis, patient stratification, and therapeutic monitoring.

For more information about the NULISAseq CNS Disease Panel 120 and Alamar Biosciences' portfolio of proteomic solutions, visit www.alamarbio.com.

About Alamar Biosciences, Inc.

Alamar Biosciences is a privately held life sciences company with a mission to power precision proteomics to enable the earliest detection of disease. The company's proprietary NULISA Platform along with the ARGOâ„¢ HT System work seamlessly with the latest advances in genomics to achieve single digit attomolar detection sensitivity, greatly surpassing the most sensitive protein detection technology on the market today. For more information, please visit alamarbio.com.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Alamar Biosciences Expands NULISAseq™ CNS Disease Panel 120 with Groundbreaking Blood-Based Brain-Derived pTau Assays

Alamar Biosciences Expands NULISAseq™ CNS Disease Panel 120 with Groundbreaking Blood-Based Brain-Derived pTau Assays