A multiplexed, barcoded PCR chemistry that separates real signal from background error.
For the visitor who already knows tumour-informed ctDNA monitoring and wants to see the underlying chemistry, the validated performance and the limits we are open about. No marketing layer.
✓ ~0.001% VAF panel-level MRD sensitivity · Works on all Illumina sequencers · Open pipeline
Three things our technology does that conventional technology does not.
Single-molecule PCR barcodes
Consensus-based error suppression
Tumour-informed personalised panels
What the platform delivers, in numbers scientists can use.
Five steps from plasma to clinical report.
The same workflow whether you send samples to our lab or run SiMSen-Seq in-house on LabSuite. Click any step for what happens, what we need, and what you get back.
What we need to start.
To build a personalised panel we need either tumour material, fresh-frozen or FFPE, or an existing tumour mutational profile from your own sequencing data. In both cases we strongly recommend a matched germline control, typically whole blood, so somatic mutations can be confidently separated from inherited variants.
The richer the mutational profile, the more variants we can track in plasma, and the more sensitive the resulting ctDNA analysis. Detailed shipping conditions and minimum inputs are on the sample requirements page.
WHAT WE NEED
TUMOUR
FFPE or fresh-frozen tissue
OR EXISTING DATA
VCF, spreadsheet or FASTQ
GERMLINE CONTROL
Matched whole blood, EDTA, strongly recommended
A panel designed around your patient's tumour.
We design, manufacture and validate a personalised SiMSen-Seq panel covering up to 50 patient-specific somatic variants, selected from the tumour profile. Clinically actionable variants and drug-resistance markers can be added on request.
The same panel is then reused for every subsequent plasma sample from that patient, which keeps ongoing ctDNA monitoring fast and affordable across the entire patient journey.
TURNAROUND AND OUTPUT
FAST TAT
Mean 3 weeks from sample receipt
STANDARD TAT
Mean 5 weeks from sample receipt
PANEL
Up to 50 personalised targets, reusable across all timepoints
Ultrasensitive ctDNA analysis, run end-to-end in our lab.
Plasma samples are analysed on the personalised panel using SiMSen-Seq, our UMI-barcoded amplicon chemistry.
In our lab we handle the full workflow: cfDNA extraction, library preparation with unique molecular identifiers (UMIs), targeted sequencing and consensus-based bioinformatics that suppresses background error to single-molecule level. You ship plasma in stabilised collection tubes, we return data and report.
The original SiMSen-Seq publication established sensitivity at 0.1% VAF. In our internal validation (ctDNA Symposium, Aarhus, May 2026; Rostamzadeh et al.), per-variant sensitivity reached approximately 0.01% VAF, and aggregate sensitivity across a personalised panel of 20 to 30 variants reached approximately 0.001% VAF (10 parts per million), the range relevant to minimal residual disease.
SERVICE DETAILS
WHERE
Our lab in Gothenburg, Sweden
You send
Plasma in stabilised collection tubes
FAST TAT
Mean time: 7 working days
STANDARD TAT
Mean time: 12 working days
Ultrasensitive ctDNA analysis, run in your own lab with Simsen LabSuite.
Simsen LabSuite delivers the entire SiMSen-Seq workflow to your own NGS laboratory. We ship the personalised panel, all required reagents, and our bioinformatic software, so library preparation, sequencing and consensus calling run in-house with identical chemistry and identical performance to our full service. Your team retains end-to-end control of samples and timing, and the data never leaves your environment.
Performance is anchored to the same internal validation as the full service: per-variant sensitivity approximately 0.01% VAF, and aggregate MRD sensitivity approximately 0.001% VAF across a 20 to 30 variant panel (Rostamzadeh et al., ctDNA Symposium, Aarhus, May 2026).
SERVICE DETAILS
WHERE
Your own NGS laboratory
WE SHIP
Personalised panel, reagents, bioinformatic software
YOU RUN
SiMSen-Seq in-house, same chemistry
WHERE
Illumina sequencing platforms
SUPPORT
Onboarding, protocol training, ongoing bioinformatics support
A clinical-grade ctDNA report.
Every analysis is delivered as a comprehensive PDF report covering mutant molecules per mL of plasma (MM/mL), variant allele frequency (VAF), and the amount of cfDNA used. Each variant is shown individually and aggregated as a single ctDNA load value per sample.
A longitudinal timeline across all samples from the same patient is included as standard, so MRD status, treatment response, clonal evolution and emerging resistance are visible at a glance. All raw data is shared in parallel via secure file transfer.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
FORMAT
PDF report, full raw data via secure transfer
PER VARIANT
MM/mL, VAF, cfDNA used
PER SAMPLE
Aggregated ctDNA load value
LONGITUDINAL
Timeline across all timepoints
Built once, tracked over time.
With the personalised panel validated, every subsequent plasma sample runs on the same fast, standardised workflow. New timepoints are added to the existing longitudinal report, so MRD status, treatment response and emerging resistance are tracked with consistent, comparable data across the entire patient journey.
The investment in panel design compounds over time: each additional timepoint is faster, cheaper, and more clinically informative than the last.
WHY IT MATTERS
COST
Lower per-sample cost as the patient journey progresses
SPEED
Standard or Fast TAT for all full-service follow-up samples; your own TAT for LabSuite.
COMPARABILITY
Same validated panel across every timepoint
INSIGHT
Clonal evolution and resistance visible as they emerge
Where our technology is strong, and where it is not.
An honest read on the platform. Aggregate MRD sensitivity around 0.001% VAF, integrated across the personalised panel, is real and validated; per-variant sensitivity is around 0.01% VAF.
Sensitivity scales with consensus depth
The chart on the right shows expected detection confidence as a function of variant allele frequency, across three consensus depth tiers. At 10,000× consensus, the platform resolves signal in the parts-per-million range across the panel.
For very high-burden cases, lower consensus depth is sufficient and faster. For minimal residual disease and paediatric work, depth is the right lever.
If no tumour tissue exists, or sensitivity is secondary, a tumour-naive panel may serve you better.
Tumour-informed monitoring requires a tumour sample for panel design. If the case is post-mortem, pre-biopsy or otherwise tissue-absent, a fixed tumour-naive panel is the correct call. We will say so, and we maintain comparisons with the leading alternatives on the Methodology page rather than hiding them.
Validated where it matters: in independent journals.
A selection of the foundational and applied publications. Filter the full list on the Evidence page.
SiMSen-Seq: simple, multiplexed, sensitive sequencing for the detection of low-frequency variants.
Stahlberg A et al. Nature Protocols, 2017
Plasma ctDNA monitoring with nine months of lead time over clinical relapse.
Ek et al., Cancer Research Communications 2024
An open pipeline for UMI consensus calling and error correction.
Österlund T, et al. Clinical Chemistry, 2022.
Structured unique molecular identifiers sharpen low-frequency detection.
Speak to our scientific team
A real human, in CET/CEST time zone, who has run samples like yours.