Column storage enables edge computation of biological big data on 5G networks

With the continuous improvement of biological detection technology, the scale of biological data is also increasing, which overloads the central-computing server. The use of edge computing in 5G networks can provide higher processing performance for large biological data analysis, reduce bandwidth consumption and improve data security. Appropriate data compression and reading strategy becomes the key technology to implement edge computing. We introduce the column storage strategy into mass spectrum data so that part of the analysis scenario can be completed by edge computing. Data produced by mass spectrometry is a typical biological big data based. A blood sample analysed by mass spectrometry can produce a 10 gigabytes digital file. By introducing the column storage strategy and combining the related prior knowledge of mass spectrometry, the structure of the mass spectrum data is reorganized, and the result file is effectively compressed. Data can be processed immediately near the scientific instrument, reducing the bandwidth requirements and the pressure of the central server. Here, we present Aird-Slice, a mass spectrum data format using the column storage strategy. Aird-Slice reduces volume by 48% compared to vendor files and speeds up the critical computational step of ion chromatography extraction by an average of 116 times over the test dataset. Aird-Slice provides the ability to analyze biological data using an edge computing architecture on 5G networks.