Modernizing Microarrays for Faster, Scalable Genetic Discovery

Labs of all sizes – from leading research organizations and large reference labs to modest facilities – are facing mounting pressures to accelerate genetic analysis, reduce bottlenecks and enable rapid, large-scale discoveries across human health and agriculture.

At the same time, growing research areas, such as population-scale genotyping and pharmacogenomics, require high-throughput, flexible solutions that most existing systems can’t support. It was clear that labs need ways to overcome persistent challenges, including workflow complexity, inconsistent turnaround times and escalating costs.

The SwiftArrayStudio Microarray Analyzer was developed in response to these real-world needs. With SwiftArrayStudio, we set out to modernize microarray technology from the ground up – simplifying and automating complex workflows, increasing throughput and decreasing turnaround time, thereby making it easier for any lab to drive discovery. This launch reflects Thermo Fisher Scientific’s continued investment in shaping the future of multi-omics and ensuring scientists have the right tools to move from idea to insight faster.

Sample processing has long been a bottleneck that ties up scientists and instruments for days at a time. Traditionally, each step in the process would occur one at a time, often requiring different tools and necessitating manual coordination. This instrument, however, combines the automated handling of multiple steps (hybridization, washing, staining and scanning) and, coupled with new room-temperature stable reagents, enables laboratory operators to load the instrument before leaving for the day. Once loaded, the SwiftArrayStudio will automate the processing of the samples to answer. The instrument is also networkable, so scientists can monitor runs and download results from multiple instruments remotely to drive laboratory operation efficiency.

The combined technology’s advanced optical system, mechanics, firmware and intuitive touchscreen interface allow for fast, reliable results. Not only does this increase productivity and efficiency, but it also helps labs reduce overhead costs and remain agile in the face of fluctuating demand. Whether they need high throughput, processing up to 16 plates per work week, or need to scale to meet seasonal demand, this analyzer supports the varying throughput needs of modern labs. The result is higher productivity, greater consistency and more time for science. 

The task was difficult, since no one step dominated the processing time. The team needed to innovate across hardware, biochemistry and analysis. For example, by using new technology in optical detectors, the team was able to cut in half the time required to scan the arrays. On the assay front, the team was able to reduce long incubations in multiple steps from overnight to just hours using new biochemistry formulations. This enabled us to reduce the time to prepare a sample for the hybridization step to less than seven hours. Finally, on the data transfer analysis step, the team invented new algorithms and faster data transfer to reduce the time from image to results.

Although our legacy solutions have been trusted for decades, our R&D team built this solution from the ground up. All of these technical advances mean that labs can now get results in as little as 30 hours, which is a dramatic reduction compared to the traditional 5-day timeline. 

The key to maintaining the accuracy and data quality is reducing the variations in the system that add unwanted noise. The team addressed issues of system variation across the spectrum from hardware, consumables and algorithms. 

On the hardware front, we introduced a new optical system using LED light sources. The LED sources provide a much more uniform output power which means our measurements of binding on the array are uniform from scan to scan. In addition, the team developed a dynamic positional teach capability for the plate gripper system with highly accurate positions of the samples with other consumables.

On the consumable front, the new system incorporates universal trays that reduce the user burden of precise pipetting and provide more repeatable sample processing. Finally, on the algorithm front, the new platform includes new analysis algorithms that remove sample process biases in the data, eliminating spurious signals and increasing data quality.  

Precision medicine relies on having the right genetic information at the right time. While the associations of genetics and outcomes are discovered at the population level, they also need to be implemented at the individual level. This requires a highly scalable platform that can perform well with throughput of millions of samples per year in the population discovery phase and seamlessly move to just a few samples per run during clinical implementation. By increasing the system throughput, we enable more samples to be processed during population discovery, and by reducing the turnaround time to 30 hours, the SwiftArrayStudio Microarray Analyzer brings genetic data closer to real-time decision making for the individual.

The dedicated arrays, PharmacoPro and PangenomePro, are designed to deliver actionable data for the widest set of populations, supporting a variety of applications such as genome-wide association studies, population genomics and biobanking studies and pharmacogenomics. This analyzer was built with the future of multi-omics research in mind and it will help labs stay ready as genetic science continues to evolve. 

The SwiftArrayStudio analyzer was made to enable scientists to pursue breakthrough discoveries that accelerate health and disease understanding, both now and in the future. For example, they can study genetic diversity with population-scale genotyping studies, which is the key to making precision medicine a reality. With the analyzer’s versatility, efficiency and reliability, researchers will be able to ask more questions and find better answers, faster.

What excites us most is that SwiftArrayStudio isn’t just a technical advancement, but an advancement for genomics research that supports the transition to clinical implementation. It gives every lab, large or small, access to powerful, scalable genotyping that will accelerate discovery and make precision medicine more inclusive and impactful. It’s a platform built not just for today’s studies, but for what’s next in genomics.