Quanterix® Spatial  

Quanterix Spatial is Quanterix’s spatial biology division, formed after Quanterix completed its acquisition of Akoya Biosciences in 2025. It combines Akoya’s spatial proteomics technologies with Quanterix’s expertise in ultra-sensitive translational assays and clinically aligned workflows. The division is powered by patented antibody molecular barcoding chemistry and includes the Akoya PhenoCycler-Fusion 2.0, Akoya PhenoImager HT 2.0, and Akoya PhenoImager Fusion instruments, along with PhenoCode Discovery and Signature panels, spatial software and data analysis tools, and Accelerator spatial biology research services supporting discovery through clinical implementation.

Quanterix Spatial is built around Akoya’s spatial biology technology, and represents future innovation and growth in this space, as well as a strong history of trusted performance. The underlying instruments (PhenoCycler-Fusion, PhenoImager HT, PhenoImager Fusion) and panel chemistry originated at Akoya. Since the acquisition, that technology has been integrated into Quanterix’s quality systems and antibody infrastructure. Researchers looking for the latest specs, panels, and roadmap should reference Quanterix Spatial as the current source, rather than legacy Akoya materials.

Yes. These are earlier product names for the same underlying technology. Akoya renamed its portfolio in 2022. CODEX became PhenoCycler, the Phenoptics workflow became PhenoImager, and the Vectra Polaris instrument became PhenoImager HT. Researchers who know the technology by its older names are using the same platforms now offered under Quanterix Spatial.

The platforms perform high-plex discovery and high-throughput large scale, whole-slide spatial proteomics at single-cell resolution. The technology uses molecular barcoding chemistry to detect over 100 protein biomarkers on a single tissue section, while preserving the spatial relationships between cells. This allows researchers to see not just which biomarkers are present, but where they are located and how cells interact within the tissue microenvironment.

Spatial proteomics measures protein localization and abundance directly in tissue, while spatial transcriptomics maps RNA expression back to specific tissue locations. Proteins are the functional molecules that most drugs target, making protein-level data essential for translational and diagnostic applications. Quanterix Spatial’s molecular barcoding chemistry is designed to integrate with spatial transcriptomics platforms on the same tissue section, so researchers can combine both protein and RNA data without sacrificing depth in either modality.

Quanterix Spatial offers three core instruments. The Akoya PhenoCycler-Fusion 2.0 is a discovery platform for high-plex, whole-slide imaging, supporting over 100 biomarkers per slide. The Akoya PhenoImager HT 2.0 is a high-throughput system built for lower-plex, higher-volume workflows, processing over 400 samples per week with onboard spectral unmixing. The Akoya PhenoImager Fusion is a standalone, ultrafast imager for low-plex phenotyping. All three support both brightfield and fluorescence imaging.

PhenoCode panels are ready-to-use, optimized multiplex biomarker panels designed for use with Quanterix Spatial’s instruments. Discovery panels, including the Human IO60 immuno-oncology panel, the Mouse IO panel, the Human Metabolism Spike-In Module, and the Human and Mouse Neurobiology panels, supporting high-plex exploratory research. Signature panels are 5-plex-plus-1 assays built to answer specific biological questions, such as whether a tumor’s immune context favors or resists immunotherapy response.

Bulk methods like RNA sequencing measure average signal across a whole sample. Single-cell methods identify distinct cell types and states but lose information about where those cells sit relative to each other. Spatial biology adds that missing layer: location context. By preserving tissue architecture, spatial phenotyping shows how immune, tumor, and stromal cells are organized and interacting within a sample, which single-cell or bulk methods alone cannot capture.

PhenoCode panels are designed to support, and more. In oncology, it maps tumor heterogeneity and immune infiltration to identify predictive spatial biomarkers. In neuroscience, it’s used to study neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, including in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease research. Customers can also create their own panels, as long as tissue can be harvested and there are antibodies available to target the biomarkers of interest. Across these areas, the underlying value is understanding not just what’s present in a tissue sample, but how it’s arranged and interacting.

Yes. The platform is backed by more than 5,000 peer-reviewed publications and the largest install base in spatial biology, spanning applications in oncology, neurobiology, immunology, and infectious disease. That publication volume is a direct result of Akoya’s decade-plus track record in the field, now continued and expanded under Quanterix.

Quanterix Spatial’s instruments are currently used in clinical research settings, not yet in diagnostic clinical settings. The company has case studies, including work with Prelude Dx, demonstrating spatial proteomics as a component of multi-omic assays with clinical relevance. Quanterix is investing in the reproducibility, standardization, and instrument development needed to move spatial biology toward clinical and diagnostic use, but it is transparent that this is a multi-year path rather than a capability available today.

As the leader in precision biomarker science, Quanterix is bringing rigor, translational expertise, and innovative technology across multiple biomarker modalities to advance a more complete understanding of disease biology.

Different biomarker approaches provide different and distinct insights into health and disease. By supporting both liquid and tissue biomarker analysis with clinically aligned workflows, Quanterix helps researchers advance programs from discovery through clinical development, while creating opportunities to generate new biological insights across modalities.