GE Healthcare Invests $800 Million in Low-Dose Technologies
$300 million in new R&D investment adds to over $500 million since 2000, encompassing CT, X-ray, software and other low-dose technologies and education
RSNA 2011
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Demonstrating its continued commitment to patient care, GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) announced an additional $300 million investment in low-dose technologies and unveiled an array of radiation-dose management offerings today at RSNA 2011. Representing more than $800 million of investment over 15 years, GE Healthcare's innovative technologies redefine "low dose" with novel dose-reporting solutions, unique image reconstruction techniques, far-reaching Dose Check upgrades, free iPad apps and online courses, and a new informational website, which together help physicians provide patients with unparalleled dose-conscious care.
GE Healthcare's low-dose vision builds on its decades-long leadership in equipping radiologists and technologists with technologies that help them reduce patient dose and improve image quality. These solutions, detailed on the new Responsible Imaging website (www.gehealthcare.com/ResponsibleImaging), include: DoseWatch*, a novel multi-modality dose monitoring solution; Veo*, a pioneering image reconstruction technology that has enabled CT imaging under 1 millisievert with profound clarity; dose-alert upgrades that go further across the installed base; free radiation safety iPad apps and low-dose webinars offering education and CE credits to healthcare professionals globally; Innova* interventional imaging systems designed to maximize dose efficiency, reduce dose and simplify dose management; and low-dose ASiR* technology, available across the GE Healthcare CT portfolio and used on over 1,000 systems for more than 10 million patient exams to date.
"Medical imaging has been indispensible in helping physicians diagnose disease and has positively affected millions of lives," said Tom Gentile, president and CEO of Healthcare Systems at GE Healthcare. "GE's commitment to patient care means equipping our customers with revolutionary tools that help them provide the highest level of care and diagnostic accuracy while striving for the lowest possible dose."
Impacting Patients - One Exam at a Time
GE's new dose-tracking and reporting solution, DoseWatch*, helps healthcare facilities analyze patient exposure levels over time, which in turn can impact the quality of care provided by physicians. Supplementing existing dose awareness technologies, DoseWatch doesn't discriminate - capturing standardized dose information on CT, interventional, mammography and X-ray systems from a range of equipment vendors. Also, in support of MITA's Dose Check initiative, Image Wisely and Image Gently, and the US Joint Commission's recent communication on radiation dose1, GE Healthcare is aggressively integrating dose alert technology on new and existing GE CT systems.
Empowering Physicians - One Procedure at a Time
The Innova family of single and biplane imaging systems offers excellent image quality with industry-leading Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) for a wide range of interventional procedures. An integral component of these products is the ability to optimize the radiation dose based on the needs of the patient, helping to enable clinicians to achieve the appropriate balance of radiation exposure and image quality in interventional care.
Informing Medical Professionals - One Click at a Time
Complementing classroom-setting low dose CT Masters Series educational courses, GE now offers free CT Low Dose Webinars at http://www.gehealthcare.com/ctedu/dosewebinar globally. With more than 3,000 downloads already this year, these expert-led forums are approved by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists for Category A Continuing Education credits. And in Europe, GE facilitates leading physicians in educating their peers at low dose symposiums in several nations.
GE's Brilliant* program is designed to help mobile C-arm users manage radiation dose while producing optimum images to enable great patient care. The educational program, which complements the company's existing customer training offerings and dose reduction product features, includes C-arm dose management classes, an iPad application and hany reference tools. Since its introduction about one year ago, more than 2,000 people have downloaded the OEC Radiation Safety iGuide app.
Redefining Low Dose CT - Less than One Millisievert at a Time
Continuing GE CT's heritage of innovation, Veo is the CT industry's first Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction technology, opening the door to high image performance at previously unheard of CT low-dose levels.2 Veo has sub-mSv capabilities that help deliver confident diagnosis - potentially enabling lower noise (standard deviation), improved low contrast detectability and spatial resolution, and fewer low signal artifacts. 2,3 Revolutionary technologies like Veo represent GE's commitment to minimize the CT industry's traditional yet undesirable trade-off between clear images and lower radiation dose.
For more information of GE's commitment to patient safety and low dose medical imaging, please visit www.gehealthcare.com/ResponsibleImaging.
GE Healthcare at RSNA 2011
Each year in Chicago, the conference of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) provides a forum for showcasing the latest innovations in medical imaging. If you are attending the conference, please visit GE Healthcare at Booth 3335.
Throughout the week of the event, GE Healthcare will distribute news and information using these digital platforms:
Press kit: http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/press-kits/ge-healthcare-at-rsna-2011/
Twitter: Follow @GEHealthcare and our RSNA hashtag #GERSNA
YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/gehealthcare
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/gehealthcare/
Note to Editors
* Trademark of General Electric Company
About GE Healthcare:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com
For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com
1. U.S. Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 47 (August 24, 2011): "Radiation risks of diagnostic imaging."
2. In clinical practice, the use of Veo may reduce CT patient dose depending on the clinical task, patient size, anatomical location and clinical practice. A consultation with a radiologist and a physicist should be made to determine the appropriate dose to obtain diagnostic image quality for the particular clinical task.
3. In clinical practice, the actual level of LCD, spatial resolution, and low signal artifact improvement may vary. Consult with a radiologist and a physicist.
Contacts
MEDIA CONTACT:
GE Healthcare
Benjamin Fox, +1 414 617 3741
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