Current trends in blood biomarker detection and imaging for Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes cognitive impairments in areas such as memory, language, and reasoning. Currently, a definitive diagnosis of AD is based on histological examination of brain specimens. Hence, it is imperative to develop practical AD detection and diagnostic tools. Blood tests are less invasive, more accessible than lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid collection, and are an ideal source of biomarkers. Various detection techniques related to AD biomarkers have emerged, and have been used in the detection of AD blood samples. However, to improve the diagnostic accuracy of AD blood testing in clinical practice, basic research needs more detailed guidelines to determine how to implement the use of biomarkers in diagnostic procedures. Therefore, combining blood biomarker detection with imaging markers may help improve the accuracy of AD diagnosis. In this review, we discuss the development trend of AD-related blood biomarker detection technologies including optoelectrical analysis platforms, and look forward to the development prospects of joint detection with optoelectronic and imaging technologies in clinical diagnosis.