Xu Sihu, chief medical officer at BGI Group and chairman of the Urology Branch of Shenzhen Medical Doctor Association, discussed precision medicine and genomics at the China Hi-Tech Forum of the 23rd China Hi-Tech Fair that took place last year.

To do precision medicine well, the most important premise is to do a good job of big data analysis, said Xu, adding that big data is especially important in the relationship between genomics and precision medicine.

Xu Sihu, chief medical officer at BGI Group, delivers a speech at the China Hi-Tech Forum 2021. [Photo/WeChat account: szchtf]

Data lay the foundation for accurate genetic diagnosis, Xu said. The genetic data volume in the future will be at the petabyte level, which is complex to analyze, difficult to collect, and requires expert tools. Hence, a platform for data collection, analysis, and R&D in the field of genetics should be built in the future.

Xu also noted that big data management is essential for genetic data, involving privacy, security and standards.

Three major aspects have been done to make big data management better. They are security technology and privacy protection, a security system, and the creation of standard specifications, Xu said.