SOPHiA GENETICS a global leader in data-driven medicine and cloud-native healthcare technology, announced a new collaboration with Jessa Ziekenhuis, one of Belgium’s largest healthcare institutions. The partnership will bring cutting-edge genomic testing and oncology research to cancer patients across Belgium.
Serving a population of more than 530,000 people, Jessa Ziekenhuis processes over 3,000 oncology DNA and RNA samples annually. Through this collaboration, the hospital will adopt SOPHiA DDM™ across its pathology operations, unifying all next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflows under a single platform. This end-to-end standardization-covering universal library preparation, automated protocols, and integrated analysis-will ensure efficiency, harmonization, and alignment with Belgium’s national ComPerMed guidelines, while optimizing sequencing resources.
Enhancing Genomic Testing Capabilities
As part of the initiative, Jessa Ziekenhuis will implement six SOPHiA GENETICS applications tailored to its needs in solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and liquid biopsies. This will expand both its clinical decision-making capabilities and its ability to drive oncology research.
The SOPHiA GENETICS solution integrates seamlessly with the hospital’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), combining a secure, cloud-based platform with embedded automation and advanced analytics. This ensures consistent workflows, streamlined operations, and improved data management.
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By consolidating all NGS pathology workflows into one platform, Jessa Ziekenhuis anticipates reducing hands-on time by 30–50%, lowering costs by up to 25%, and significantly shortening turnaround times. The standardized approach also enhances sequencing efficiency, supports rapid accreditation, and provides scalability for future expansion.
Building Collaborative Genomics Infrastructure
The hospital will also deploy the SOPHiA DDM™ Dispatch feature, enabling it to share a NovaSeq sequencer with AZ Delta in Roeselare, Belgium. Both institutions co-invested in the system and jointly established the Bridge Consortium, a collaborative network designed to optimize sequencing capacity, reduce turnaround times, and promote knowledge exchange.
Leadership Perspectives
“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. This step enables us to generate molecular insights faster and more accurately, which benefits both clinical decision-making and our research projects. Ultimately, this is an important investment in personalized medicine and in the quality of care for Belgian patients with cancer,” said Dr. Brigitte Maes, Clinical Pathologist at Laboratory for Molecular Diagnostics at Jessa Ziekenhuis.
“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,” said Kevin Puylaert, Managing Director of EMEA, SOPHiA GENETICS. “By delivering a fully automated, cloud-native solution tailored to their oncology needs, we’re empowering Jessa Ziekenhuis to unify workflows, accelerate insights, and elevate patient care across Belgium.”