Life Technologies Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) sequencer

The Life Technologies Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) sequencer uses semiconductor sequencing technology.

Ion Torrent, a business unit of Life Technologies, has invented and brought to market a fundamentally new semiconductor device that enables chemical signals to be directly translated into digital information for the first time. Ion semiconductor sequencing is a disruptive technology because it brings the entire design, fabrication and supply chain infrastructure of the semiconductor industry to bear on the challenge of DNA sequencing.

The sequencer is a benchtop PostLight semiconductor-based platform that performs a sequencing run in approximately two hours. With a small benchtop footprint and weight of ~30 kg, low-cost sequencing reagents and simple touch-screen user interface, the PGM Sequencer brings next-generation sequencing to every laboratory. The PGM Sequencer requires a torrent server for operation.

The Ion PGM sequencer is for research use only and not intended for animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use.