On Oct. 15, 2025, Broad Clinical Labs, in collaboration with Roche Sequencing Solutions and Boston Children’s Hospital, announced official recognition by Guinness World Records for achieving the fastest DNA sequencing technique to date. Leveraging Roche’s new SBX sequencing technology and a streamlined, integrated workflow, the teams completed sequencing and analysis of the whole human genome in less than 4 hours, surpassing the previous benchmark of 5 hours and 2 minutes.

The team subsequently applied this process to samples obtained from the Boston Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit to demonstrate a same day workflow from blood to report. The work was described today in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

This achievement demonstrates that it is possible to create a timeframe in which a lab can receive a sample and return actionable information back in under 8 hours and still keep pace with a high-volume neonatal intensive care unit — a great improvement from current timeframes, which are at least 2 days but more frequently greater than 5 days. This difference could be profoundly beneficial. 

Whole genome sequencing offers the most comprehensive view of a patient’s genetic information, enabling clinicians to uncover variants associated with rare diseases, clarify uncertain diagnoses, and guide treatment decisions. In critical care environments such as the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units (NICU/PICU), hours can determine the difference between unnecessary procedures and targeted care. Accelerating the workflow through faster genome sequencing can shorten the diagnostic odyssey, leading to timely interventions, more precise care planning, and informed discussions with families.

The Broad Institute (Broad Clinical Labs’ parent organization) has a long history of innovation and execution to accelerate the pace of biomedical research, dating all the way back to the Human Genome Project. This new joint effort successfully paired Roche’s in-development SBX technology with an optimized, end-to-end workflow, encompassing rapid sample processing, sequencing, secondary analysis (alignment and variant calling), automated quality control, and prioritized variant review. The streamlined approach, facilitated by orchestrated handoffs across laboratory and bioinformatics teams, ensured efficiency without compromising data quality.