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GE Healthcare highlights power of healthymagination in transforming lives through 'early care' at Saudi Medicare 2011

GE Healthcare showcases the new range of diagnostic technologies at the leading exhibition
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; April 11, 2011: GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE ), will highlight the strong inroads achieved by healthymagination, the company's path breaking initiative that focuses on increasing access to quality healthcare at lower costs, at the 14^th International Healthcare, Hospital Supplies and Medical Equipment Show (Saudi Medicare 2011) to be held from April 10 to 13 at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center.

GE Healthcare had launched healthymagination in Saudi Arabia last year, supported by a successful public outreach campaign, aimed at strengthening awareness of an earlier model of healthcare and promoting healthy living. This focus on earlier diagnosis, and thus potentially more effective treatment, is further underscored through the company's participation at Saudi Medicare 2011, where it will showcase its advanced range of diagnostic technologies and solutions.

Majid Kaddoumi, General Manager at GE Healthcare for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: "The Kingdom is currently laying extra emphasis on promoting social care and development through large scale investments in the healthcare sector. GE Healthcare will partner in the healthcare infrastructure development strategy of Saudi Arabia by sharing our advanced technologies that help address the most pressing challenges faced by the local population. The increase in incidence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and stress make an earlier model of healthcare imperative to reduce healthcare bills and improve the efficiency of treatment."

GE Healthcare has a long-standing presence in the Kingdom, where the company has established strong public private partnerships aimed at sharing best practices and technologies, knowledge transfer and skills development. Since the global launch of GE 's healthymagination initiative in May 2009, Oxford Analytica has validated 40 innovations globally, several of which are being displayed at Saudi Medicare, thus bringing exceptional technology to the Kingdom once again.

The Lullaby* Warmer, a healthymagination-validated product available in the Middle East, has the potential to help caregivers improve access to quality infant care in developing countries where nearly 90 percent of the world's births occur. The device is a bed with an overhead heater, showering the newborn with delicate warmth while the baby is cleaned after birth and checked for its first vital statistics. Remarkably simple to operate, even for a first-time operator, GE 's Lullaby Warmer will help improve access to care in the urban and semi-urban settings.

Although its healthymagination validation status still is pending, Vscan* - a new, pocket-sized visualization tool developed to provide physicians with imaging capabilities at the point-of-care -was launched recently in the Middle East. Roughly the size of a smartphone, Vscan houses powerful, ultra-smart ultrasound technology that provides clinicians with an immediate, non-invasive method to help secure visual information about what is happening inside the body. Vscan is portable and can easily be taken from room to room to be used in many clinical, hospital or primary care settings.

GE Healthcare is also highlighting its advanced Computed Tomography (CT) diagnostic equipment. GE 's Discovery* CT750 HD, delivers fine detail and repeatable outcomes - with up to 50 per cent less dose for patients of all ages. The redesigned image chain has the exceptional Gemstone detector to enable high-resolution images. Also on the showcase is AsiR*, a technology to reduce dose on the raw data, now on BrightSpeed*, to make it available and affordable for all customers and patients for all clinical routine exams.

GE has been working closely with the Ministry of Health to help build a sustainable healthcare model under healthymagination with the partnership encompassing a wide range of initiatives, which include a Healthcare Learning Institute, advisory services on hospital workflow and training programs.

In order to help hospitals under the Ministry of Health offer the highest technological quality of care, GE Healthcare has trained more than 1,300 MoH healthcare professionals. GE has also helped transform the operation rooms of eight MoH hospitals and six Nation Guard Health Affairs Departments through tools and methodologies that are all aimed to enhance business and management efficiencies.

Under the company's healthymagination consumer outreach campaign, GE is using its website www.healthymagination.me and its social networking platforms such as Twitter (http://twitter.com/Li9o7etna) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/healthymagination.me) to raise consumer awareness and provide education around healthier living.

GE has been associated with Saudi Arabia for many decades. With more than 800 employees in the Kingdom, GE has expanded its presence through public-private partnerships and a strong footprint of facilities in service repair support and customer training centers in oil & gas, energy, water, aviation and healthcare, which serve the region. GE Healthcare's pavilion is at Hall 3 of Saudi Medicare 2011.

* Trademarks of General Electric company

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Join the conversation at our GE Hewar blog: http://middleeast.geblogs.com/

For details on healthymagination, log on to: http://www.healthymagination.com/

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/http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com.

For more information, please contact
Caroline Wehbeh
GE Media Relations Manager, Middle East & North Africa
Tel: +9714 4296318
Caroline.wehbeh@ge.com

Kelly Home/ Nivine William / Iman Ahmed
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +9714 334 4550
k.home@asdaa.com / n.william@asdaa.com / i.ahmed@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2011