The cytogenetics of haematological samples is investigated through a combination of G-band karyotyping and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). While the utility of these techniques is well proven, FISH places a practical limit on the extent of the investigation while the need to perform a cell culture introduces both delays and variability into the process.
The CytoChip Focus haematology array overcomes these limitations through the use of arrayCGH to investigate the entire cell population for copy number imbalances associated with haematological malignancies. Working directly with DNA extracted from bone marrow or blood the CytoChip Focus array delivers:
- Disease focused design. Screening of over 50 regions associated with known haematological malignancies delivers the maximum amount of relevant information at the start of the investigation. Software smoothing of the backbone and careful selection of clones to avoid regions of known copy number polymorphisms (CNPs) ensures only those results that can be interpreted with confidence are reported by the array.
- Detection of copy number imbalance in mosaic cell populations. Sophisticated controls, novel replication and advanced mathematics enable the Focus array to detect abnormalities in as little as 10% of cells. Imbalances in primary malignancies are fully characterised while the presence of secondary malignant cell populations, possibly not yet contributing to the phenotype, is investigated.
- Fully automated data analysis and DecisionTrack technology. Advanced algorithms, for interpreting copy number variation, deliver detailed lists of imbalances which may be reviewed in detail for gene content and CNV frequency using BlueGnome's novel DecisionTrack technology.
- A complete solution for disease research. Sample information and associated results may be securely stored in BlueGnome's BlueFuse Multi database to improve reporting of investigations. Over time the rich repository of high resolution, un-smoothed, data may be used to support valuable research into new disease markers and clinical outcome.
- Cost effective. Optimised protocols and advanced replication deliver robust results using only one hybridization per sample, two samples per array, to enable a genome wide screen to be completed for the equivalent cost of 5 FISH probes.
