BioDiscovery Launches the NxClinical Center of Excellence Initiative with Victorian Clinical Genetics Services as Its First Partner
BioDiscovery, Inc., a leader in innovative genomic software solutions, announced that Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS), the pioneering genetic services arm of Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia, has adopted BioDiscovery's NxClinical software for analysis, management, and interpretation of copy number variants in its clinical SNP microarray workflow and has also entered into an agreement with BioDiscovery as a Center of Excellence to provide training services to NxClinical customers in the region.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., April 1, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- VCGS is a not-for-profit organization that provides clinical care, support, genetic screening and diagnostic testing for children, adults and families who are at risk of, or living with a genetic condition. The organization works closely with a wide range of support groups and health professionals, including general practitioners and specialists, to support them with the diagnosis and care of their patients. VCGS provides a truly integrated clinical and laboratory service to impart the most accurate interpretation of often rare and complex genetic data. Its reputation for reliability, quality and exemplary service is the reason they are valued and trusted by health professionals in Australia and internationally.
For the last four months, VCGS has been using NxClinical software to analyze its SNP microarray data. NxClinical is a multi-faceted system that can handle Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) as well as microarray data, allowing analysis and interpretation of various platforms in a single software system. Under the NxClinical Center of Excellence initiative, VCGS is excited to provide user training for cytogeneticists and molecular geneticists in the region who use the NxClinical system. This new endeavor demonstrates VCGS' expertise and shared mission to continually improve genomic testing by investing in new technology and providing laboratory training opportunities.
NxClinical provides a concise and comprehensive way to record an analysts' interpretation of events, negating the need for paperwork — and by using automated workflows, the time it takes to review samples can be greatly improved.
"NxClinical has completely transformed our analysis and interpretation pipeline," said Ms. Amber Boys, Second in Charge, Postnatal Cytogenetics, VCGS.
The visualization of calls and underlying probes play a critical role in the interpretation of events. NxClinical allows you to review results visually and interactively. The analysis pipeline allows you to filter data more effectively so small pathogenic CNVs are detected while larger benign CNVs are auto classified and excluded.
VCGS Laboratory Director, Dr. Damien Bruno said, "We are committed to improving genetic and genomic healthcare practices and technology and are pleased to partner with BioDiscovery as an NxClinical training site in Australia."
"Genetic testing labs could really benefit from a deeper exchange of knowledge through training, national conferences and informal regional meetings. We are excited to launch this Center of Excellence initiative with VCGS and look forward to expanding this collaboration in the coming years," said Dr. Soheil Shams, CEO, BioDiscovery. "Ultimately, this knowledge will be to the benefit of the patients and that is why we have been driving these types of information-sharing projects. Additionally, working closely with VCGS, as a recognized global scientific leader, provides us with unique perspective on the cutting-edge needs of the field enabling us to keep NxClinical in the forefront of innovation in genomic software.
NxClinical 5.0, the latest version, is currently being rolled out. "We are looking forward to upgrading to version 5.0 and are particularly interested in its new features supporting cancer and prenatal samples such as identifying mosaic events and calculating aberrant cell fraction. With NxClinical we have streamlined our pipeline, have improved turnaround and consistency across the board, and the new features will further enhance our reporting and overall workflow." said Ms. Boys.
BioDiscovery's NxClinical software increases accuracy and efficiency in molecular genetics and cytogenomics labs' workflows. A unique feature is integrated review of CNV, AOH, and Seq Var allowing for rapid results with increased diagnostic utility. NxClinical's platform-independence allows labs to use the same software for analysis and interpretation of data from any technology (e.g. aCGH arrays, SNP arrays, and NGS) allowing much greater flexibility and ease in adopting the best technology for a lab without having to invest additional time and money in installation, training, and validation with a new system. The system includes best-in-class algorithms for copy number estimation and numerous filters to quickly narrow down the list of variants to those that are relevant. The automated workflows can be customized to mirror a lab's decision-making process and classification terms to pre-classify events, removing repetitive tasks and minimizing potential human error. The system allows enforcement of lab SOPs with assigned user roles and privileges for appropriate user access, extensive audit trail capabilities, and flexible deployment with on-premises or cloud-based options.
SOURCE BioDiscovery
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