Personalised Medicine
Pharmacogenomics in the pocket of every patient? A prototype based on quick response codes -- Samwald and Adlassnig
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association jamia.bmj.com doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2012-001275
Public release date: 16-Aug-2012 [ Print | E-mail |
Creating a future of personalized medicine: U-M forms joint venture for DNA diagnostics
Nvidia Tesla GPUs to power EasyGenomics service for affordable DNA sequencing
Nvidia has teamed up with Chinese genomics institute BGI to create what's being described as an "affordable, cloud-based DNA sequencing service" called EasyGenomics. The service will feature a hybrid computing system that's powered by Nvidia's Tesla M2070 and M2075 GPUs, which can reportedly speed up the DNA analysis process from a few days to a few hours. The enhanced speed combined with BGI's sequencing platform (which just so happens to be the largest in the world) is expected to provide not only an easy to use platform, but also a relatively inexpensive one. "This could be the year of the $1,000 genome due to rapid decline in sequencing costs," Nvidia's Sumit Gupta explained. EasyGenomics will eventually expand the system with hundreds of Tesla GPUs, and when the service is fully deployed it's expected to support thousands of users with automated DNA sequence analysis — including biologists, bioinformaticists and, physicians. <p style="text-align:right;color:#A8A8A8"></p>
Led by tissue tests to aid drug therapy decisions, the personalized medicine testing market exceeded $28 billion in 2011, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher includes in its analysis all tests that are used to determine the appropriate therapeutic on an individual patient. [See also: GE makes investment in NanoString Technologies ] This broad scope includes new molecular tests based on proven biomarkers, as well as routine glucose and microbial identification tests. The dynamic part of the market is the new tests, and according to Kalorama's report, "World Market for Personalized Medicine Diagnostics," the tests that have turned personalized medicine from concept to reality are tissue tests that determine therapy for cancer. These will experience better than average IVD industry revenue growth rates in the next five years.
Personalized medicine market in growth mode
Begun in 2008, the "1000 Genomes Project" aims to sequence 1000 genomes and gain a deeper understanding of what genetic variations may put people at risk for disease. When the Human Genome Project got underway in 1990 it was expected to take 15 years to sequence the over 3 billion chemical base pairs that spell out our genetic code. In true Moore’s Law tradition the emergence of faster and more efficient sequencing technologies along the way led to the Project’s early completion in 2003. Today, 22 years after scientists first committed to the audacious goal of sequencing the genome, the next generation of sequencers are setting their sites much higher. About a thousand times higher.
Group Set To Sequence 1000 Genomes By The End Of The Year
USB stick can sequence DNA in seconds - 17 February 2012
Read more: Click here to read a later version of this story It may look like an ordinary USB memory stick, but a little gadget that can sequence DNA while plugged into your laptop could have far-reaching effects on medicine and genetic research. The UK firm Oxford Nanopore built the device, called MinION, and claims it can sequence simple genomes – like those of some viruses and bacteria – in a matter of seconds.