Key points from article :
Cheap DNA sequencing would have ramifications for every branch of medicine.
Illumina aims to drive the cost of human genome sequencing down to a hundred dollars.
To become a routine procedure, the results have to be accurate.
Q score provides order of magnitude of accuracy.
Q10 = 10% of bases are incorrect
Q20 = 1% of bases are incorrect
Q30 = 0.1% of bases are incorrect - i.e. in on a thousand.
Even Q30 could cause problems in a clinical setting, e.g. if testing for genetic disorders or cancer.
Genomic sequencing for clinical use is analyzed multiple times in a row to improve final result.
Illumina's DRAGEN sequencing system processes an entire human genome thirty times in less than a half hour.
In 2018, Illumina completed the full sequencing of a baby’s DNA in less than 20 hours to diagnose a genetic disease.
To push the price down further, high-throughput machines need to be available in every clinic.
