Category Archives: Learn more about GHI software

eBook Release: Pharmacogenetics

         February 27, 2024

Welcome to our engaging journey through the fascinating world of pharmacogenetics! In this friendly guide, we’re going to explore how our unique genetic makeup influences the way we respond to medications. It’s all about making medicine more personalized and effective for everyone. This eBook, Pharmacogenetics takes you into the world of a cutting-edge field at the intersection of genetics and… Read more »

Decoding Complex Fusion Representations: A Deep Dive into VCF Breakend Notation and its Impact on Gene Analysis

         March 14, 2023
Decoding Complex Fusion Representations A Deep Dive into VCF Breakend Notation and its Impact on Gene Analysis Icon

Unlocking the intricacies of fusion representations is crucial for understanding the impact of complex genetic rearrangements on gene function and disease development. In the most recent release of VarSeq, we added support for the import of complex rearrangements from VCF files, which typically encode rearrangements using breakend notation. This powerful notation is capable of describing the full spectrum of structural… Read more »

4 Essential Support Resources for Golden Helix Software Users

         January 5, 2023
4 Essential Support Resources for Golden Helix Customers BLOG Image

Golden Helix provides extensive resources to help our users who are just getting started and address any issues they may encounter as they become more familiar with our software. Our resources are constantly updated and are tailored to the needs of our users. If you’re facing a problem, it’s likely that others have encountered it as well, and we’ve included… Read more »

Highlights from our PhoRank 2.0 Webcast

         June 10, 2021

Thank you to those who attended our recent webcast, “PhoRank 2.0: Improved Phenotype-Based Gene Ranking in VarSeq”. For those who could not attend, you can find a link to the recording here. This webcast covered upcoming improvements to the PhoRank phenotype-based gene ranking algorithm based on literature published in the years since the algorithm’s development. The PhoRank Algorithm When performing… Read more »

Variant Filtration and Interpretation

         June 3, 2021

I learned about Batten disease from a childhood friend’s Facebook post. Over the course of a few months, her 8-year-old, Eva, the oldest of 4 daughters – Emily, Lucy, and Carly – was rapidly going blind. Baffled, doctors ran a genetic panel that returned a devastating result – the diagnosis of Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis or Batten disease. A broad… Read more »

VS-CNV Updates in VarSeq v2.2.3

         May 18, 2021

Golden Helix has just released VarSeq v2.2.3. In this update, there are notable changes that can improve CNV calling capabilities covered in this webcast. The topics discussed included: Accounting for GC content Improvements to CNV quality flags Using target filtering Updates to the CNV sensitivity and precision settings This blog post will elaborate on these capabilities and demonstrate how they… Read more »

Webcast Recap: High Precision Exome CNV Detection with VS-CNV

         May 7, 2021

Thank you to those who attended the recent webcast, “High Precision Exome CNV Detection with VS-CNV”. For those who could not attend but wish to watch, here is a link to the recording. This webcast delved into the complex world of CNV calling for whole-exome samples, which presents unique challenges that require specific considerations and strategies. Over the past several months,… Read more »

Lock in Annotation Source Versions to Increase Workflow Consistency

         February 25, 2021
Annoation Sources

Next-generation sequencing generates an immense amount of data which is then subject to a multi-step process to establish a validated bioinformatic pipeline. From processing raw sequence data to the detection of genetic mutations, establishing a validated and consistent bioinformatic pipeline makes a huge difference in the quality of patient care and accuracy of results. In this blog, we are focusing… Read more »

Customer Publications February 2021: The Heart Edition

         February 23, 2021
heart

Welcome to our Customer Publications for February 2021. As we commemorate the 57th American Heart Month, it is important to remember why we are wearing red and using #OurHearts. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute urges Americans to do what they can to be heart-healthy and mitigate the risks of… Read more »

New CNV Tools with VarSeq 2.2.2 Update

         February 16, 2021
copy number variant algorithm

Our latest release of the VarSeq software has had a major upgrade with the addition of the new CNV ACMG guidelines! Here are some recent webcasts we’ve given covering the new guideline tool: Family-Based Workflows in VarSeq and VSClinical A User’s Perspective: ACMG Guidelines for CNVs in VSClinical Not only does VarSeq 2.2.2 come with the new guideline tool, but… Read more »

January 2021 Publications

         January 28, 2021
Customer Publications

New discoveries using NGS data analysis are never-ending and are pushing precision medicine to the forefront. In this month’s customer publication blog, I am focusing on our VarSeq software as investigators harness its power to perform a variety of investigational study designs. From cancer to inherited rare disease research, VarSeq is the rising star in research and diagnostic tools. At… Read more »

New eBook Update: Precision Medicine – Third Edition

         January 27, 2021
Precision Medicine - Third Edition

I am pleased to share with you the official release of my updated eBook, “Precision Medicine“. Almost 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates captured one of the key principles underlying precision medicine. In the 21st century, we take an understanding of the individual characteristics of a person to a new level. By leveraging information about an individual’s genome, we are able to… Read more »

Webcast Recap: Evaluation of CNVs with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guideline Workflow

         November 10, 2020

In the webcast, Evaluation of Copy Number Variants with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guideline Workflow, we discussed how VSClinical implements Section 4 of the ACMG guidelines. Specifically, we focused on integrating literature and publications to assess the pathogenicity of a CNV event when there was a lack of dosage sensitivity information. One of the primary pieces of evidence for evaluating genes… Read more »

Upcoming VS-CNV Update: CNV Event Reporting with ACMG Guidelines

         October 22, 2020

Golden Helix is excited to release an upcoming VSClinical feature that allows users to analyze next-generation sequencing (NGS) CNV event reporting with ACMG guidelines. This feature will be the first in the NGS workspace to allow this capability and if you are curious about the functionalities you can get a sneak peek by looking at some of our most recent… Read more »

New eBook Update: Genetic Data Warehousing – Second Edition

         August 17, 2020
free ebook on genetic data warehousing

This morning I released a new version of my eBook “Genetic Data Warehousing – Second Edition.” As Next-Generation Sequencing is taking off in the clinic, it creates a significant data management issue for clinicians, scientists, and IT professionals alike. How can we retain the massive amounts of data coming out of clinical pipelines in a way that enables labs to… Read more »

Golden Helix’s NGS-Solutions for Clinical Variant Analysis: VSClinical’s Assessment Catalog

         August 14, 2020

It doesn’t take much effort to find articles discussing the value of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). There is a consistent tone amongst authors that implementing NGS pipelines are critical for clinical efficiency in both hereditary disorders and somatic. However, NGS strategies do not come without their own challenges. Challenges include not only the detection and calling of high quality/probability variants from… Read more »

Clinical Variant Analysis for Cancer eBook – Second Edition

         May 14, 2020

This morning I released a new version of my eBook “Clinical Variant Analysis for Cancer – Second Edition.” The clinical utilization of Next-Generation Sequencing data to diagnose cancer has taken off, resulting in the need to standardize the interpretation and reporting of observed genomic variations. This eBook explores the entire clinical diagnostic process. It demonstrates how Golden Helix software can support clinicians with their… Read more »

The New ACMG-Based Trio Tutorial

         April 3, 2020

Our Support Team curates a variety of tutorials to help orient new users to the capabilities of VarSeq. We are happy to announce the team’s new release of the trio tutorial that places emphasis on using the ACMG guidelines. This tutorial gives insight into the proper setup of pedigree structure as well as detailed descriptions of the filter containers and… Read more »

Powerful Cohort Analysis with VarSeq’s Count Alleles Algorithm

         February 25, 2020

Although VarSeq is intentionally designed to be a clinical NGS pipeline tool able to run a handful or even single samples through, we have many users who run large cohort style studies with the tool as well. One common use is to compare case/control data to isolate variants shared among affected individuals and exclude those in unaffected. One incredibly powerful… Read more »

Cyber Security Strategies for NGS Testing Labs: Part IV

         February 13, 2020

Golden Helix is in a unique position to provide a secure on-premise analysis solution. This capability is based on two enablers. First, we build our software solutions from scratch and from the ground-up with the assumption that it should run on any operating system and potentially behind firewalls or even without internet access. Second, we provide these solutions on a licensing model based on training and supporting users, not… Read more »