Scientists in Singapore have developed a method to rapidly analyze high throughput sequencing data. This method incorporates a mathematical technique which has long been used in industries outside biotechnology such as radar, electrical engineering, and cell phones.

While high throughput sequencing has revolutionized molecular biology, there has been a speed bump which slows the analysis of sequencing results. The high throughput sequencing process generates a massive amount of data which must be analyzed to filter signal from noise. Traditionally, researchers have treated each set of sequencing data as unique and requiring its own set of analytical methods to decipher. Because of this, it can take a lengthy period of time to produce meaningful sequencing data.

As published in Nature Biotechnology, the team of scientists was able to produce meaningful results from a variety of high throughput sequencing data sets using only one analytics technique, the pre-whitening match filter. The filter was demonstrated to produce data across several sequencing based functional profiles that is more accurate than assay-specific analysis methods.

This latest technique holds promise to reduce time and cost for patients who could benefit from an improved level of care due to sequencing.

The article can be found at: Kumar et al. (2013) Uniform, Optimal Signal Processing Of Mapped Deep-Sequencing Data.