Jessa Ziekenhuis will implement unified genomic testing platform across pathology operations, expecting to reduce hands-on time by up to 50%.
Sophia Genetics has announced a collaboration with Jessa Ziekenhuis in Hasselt, Belgium, to implement the company’s cloud-based genomic testing platform across the hospital’s pathology operations.
Jessa Ziekenhuis, one of Belgium’s largest healthcare institutions serving over 530,000 people, processes more than 3,000 oncology DNA and RNA samples annually. The hospital will adopt SOPHiA DDM across its pathology operations to unify next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflows under a single platform.
The implementation will include universal library preparation, unified automated protocols, and a fully integrated workflow designed to ensure compliance with national ComPerMed guidelines. The hospital will deploy six Sophia Genetics applications for solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and liquid biopsy analysis.
Significant Efficiency Gains Expected
By standardizing its entire pathology NGS operation under the unified workflow, Jessa Ziekenhuis expects to reduce hands-on time by 30% to 50%, cut overall costs by up to 25%, and accelerate testing turnaround times. The platform integrates with the hospital’s Laboratory Information Management System to ensure seamless data flow and consistency across workflows.
“At Jessa Ziekenhuis, we are strongly committed to innovation in order to provide our patients with access to the most advanced oncological care. Through our collaboration with Sophia Genetics, we can fully harmonize and accelerate our NGS workflows,” says Dr Brigitte Maes, clinical pathologist at Laboratory for Molecular Diagnostics at Jessa Ziekenhuis, in a release.
The SOPHiA DDM Dispatch feature will enable Jessa Ziekenhuis to share a NovaSeq sequencer with AZ Delta in Roeselare, Belgium. The two hospitals jointly invested in the NovaSeq and established the Bridge Consortium to provide sequencing services together, optimizing sequencer capacity utilization and improving turnaround times.
Cloud-Native Platform Integration
The Sophia Genetics solution combines cloud-based analysis with embedded automation and advanced analysis tools. The platform’s cloud-native architecture enables decentralized genomic testing while maintaining standardized protocols across multiple sites.
“Our collaboration with Jessa Ziekenhuis exemplifies how Sophia Genetics can support leading institutions in scaling their genomics capabilities while ensuring the highest possible quality and efficiency,” says Kevin Puylaert, managing director of EMEA at Sophia Genetics, in a release.
The partnership strengthens Sophia Genetics’ presence across European hospital networks as institutions seek scalable solutions for precision medicine programs. The company announced the collaboration at the European Congress of Pathology in Vienna, Austria.
Sophia Genetics develops cloud-native healthcare technology focused on data-driven medicine, serving hospital, laboratory, and biopharma institutions globally through its SOPHiA DDM Platform for genomic and multimodal data analysis.
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