US genomics lab uses robots for faster, cheaper routine genetic tests

Liza Knez, a senior technologist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional Laboratory, demonstrates the use of a cell free DNA analysis unit. The new genomics lab will expand diagnostic testing capabilities and provide early screening and intervention for its 4.5 million members. — Bay Area News Group/TNS

An archway of blue and white balloons adorned the entrance of an otherwise unremarkable office building in San Jose this week, marking the grand opening of a new high-tech laboratory for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, which serves 4.5 million people in the region.

The new lab is an effort to expand and streamline some common genetic testing routinely done by the insurer and health care provider, and a step towards increasing access to one of the next frontiers in tech and medicine, personalised “precision” treatment based on genome testing.