Webinars and Sponsored Roundtables — Register Now
Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 11:00-11:30 AM CT
- Explain how transparency and manufacturer partnerships improve quality, consistency, and decision-making confidence in specimen management.
- Evaluate blood collection tubes beyond cost and commodity assumptions, incorporating clinical impact and risk into decision-making.
- Assess the potential risk points when using a blood collection device that has not been cleared for a specific purpose.
Roundtable presenters Nick Fingland, PhD, PMP, Senior Director, R&D Operations and Science, BD, and Chris Farnsworth, PhD, D(ABCC), Section Head of Clinical Chemistry, Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine.
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Learn about digital pathology technology that is future-ready, yet practical for today’s
laboratory needs.
Webinar presenters Scott Hammond, Senior Systems Consultant, Digital Pathology Division, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology, and Ursula Hofer, Imaging Technologist, Pathology Digital Imaging Lab, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology, and Sandra Banky, PA(ASCP), Director of Operations, Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology.
Moderated by: Bob McGonnagle, Publisher, CAP TODAY
Subspecialties
Interactive Product Guides
Product Spotlight
Thermo Fisher Scientific
| Company | Thermo Fisher Scientific |
|---|---|
| Name of system | Ion GeneStudio S5 System |
| City, State | Carlsbad, CA |
| Phone | 800-955-6288 |
| Website | |
| System application/FDA cleared or approved | research use/not required |
| Country where designed/Manufactured | U.S./Singapore |
| First year sold in U.S./First year installed in U.S. | 2018/2018 |
| System sold internationally | yes (worldwide) |
| Dimensions of sequencer (H × W × D)/Footprint of sequencer | 62.5 × 34.0 × 36.7 in./8.7 sq. ft. |
| Accessory equipment supplied with sequencer at no cost | — |
| Type of computer supplied with sequencer | operating computer |
| Analysis options provided with sequencer | onboard, cloud based, local server |
| Where library preparation is performed | accessory equipment |
| Bioinformatics tools provided with sequencer | Torrent Suite (optional: Ion Reporter, Oncomine Reporter) |
| Sequencer supplied with UPS (uninterruptible power supply) | no |
| Electrical connection required for sequencer | 100–240 VAC at 50/60 Hz, 6.5–14.5 A |
| List price of entire sequencer and necessary components | — |
| Purchase options | purchase, trade in, lease, finance |
| Warranties offered | first year included with purchase; extended warranty available |
| Training included/Total time for basic training per operator | yes/1 day |
| Training location/Follow-up training available | at customer site/yes (extra charge) |
| Maximum No. of samples amplified in a single amplification event | 384 samples (>384 samples with custom barcodes) |
| Read length/Percent bases >Q30 | up to 600 bp/— |
| Paired-end capability/Tag lengths/Spans | — |
| Fragment/Tag lengths/Spans | yes/—/up to 600 bp |
| Mate pair/Tag lengths/Spans | — |
| Single end/Tag lengths/Spans | yes/—/up to 400 bp |
| RNA sequencing/Tag lengths/Spans | yes/—/up to 400 bp |
| ChIP sequencing/Tag lengths/Spans | — |
| Bisulfite sequencing/Tag lengths/Spans | yes/—/up to 400 bp |
| Maximum No. of reads or fragments sequenced per single-end run | 2–130 million |
| Maximum No. of reads or fragments sequenced per paired-end run | — |
| Total No. of nucleotides (bases) sequenced per run | 20–25 Gb (Ion 550); 10–15 Gb (Ion 540); 3–4 Gb (Ion 530); 0.6–1 Gb (Ion 520); 0.3–0.5 Gb (Ion 510 chip) |
| Wet lab bench time for sequencing preparation | <45 minutes |
| Sequencing run time | 2.5–4 hours |
| Total time for generating standard gDNA library | — |
| • Paired end | — |
| • Fragment | 4–6 hours |
| • Mate pair | — |
| • Single end | 5–7 hours |
| • RNA sequencing | <6 hours |
| • Bisulfite sequencing | 5.5 hours |
| • Hands-on time for paired end | — |
| • Hands-on time for fragment | 1 hour |
| • Hands-on time for mate pair | <1 hour |
| • Hands-on time for single end | 15 minutes |
| • Hands-on time for RNA sequencing | 1 hour (with Ion AmpliSeq Transcriptome) |
| • Hands-on time for ChIP sequencing | — |
| • Hands-on time for bisulfite sequencing | 30 minutes |
| Library preparation integrated in system as standard offering | no (performed on Ion Chef) |
| Cost of sequencing reagents per run | — |
| Reagent tracking method | RFID |
| • Type of reagent information tracked | expiration date, lot and part Nos. |
| Shipping conditions for amplification/sequencing reagents | -20°C, 4°C, ambient (variable based on product)/-20°C, 4°C, ambient (variable based on product) |
| Storage conditions for amplification/sequencing reagents | -20°C, 4°C, ambient (variable based on product)/-20°C, 4°C, ambient (variable based on product) |
| Shelf life of amplification/sequencing reagents | 12–36 months from manufacture date (variable based on product)/12–36 months from manufacture date (variable based on product) |
| System requires a control sample on sequencing run | optional |
| • Company offers a sequencing control | yes (additional charge) |
| Sequencing system control software and devices to start run/for data analysis | Torrent Suite/Ion Reporter |
| Complete walkaway automation for amplification, sequencing, and variant calling | no (walkaway automation for sequencing, variant calling) |
| Remote system monitoring | — |
| Total time required for setup of amplification, sequencing, and variant calling steps | <30 minutes |
| Maximum No. of libraries sequenced in a single run | 384 samples |
| System includes secondary data-analysis software developed by company | yes (Torrent Suite, Ion Reporter) |
| System includes post-sequencing data-analysis software | yes (Torrent Suite, Ion Reporter) |
| Mutations detectable via data-analysis software | substitutions, indels, copy number changes |
| System can generate a variant report | yes |
| Types of maintenance plans available/mean time between failures | AB Assurance/— |
| No. of field application scientists and engineers based in U.S. | 450 |
| • Weekly maintenance required | — |
| • Monthly maintenance required | — |
| • Pre-run maintenance required | — |
| Distinguishing features of NGS system (supplied by company) | scalable, flexible, end-to-end NGS solution from library to report with turnaround time of <24 hours and <45 minutes of hands-on time; start with as little as 1 ng of input DNA or RNA; flexible sequencing depth and sample number throughput |