GE Healthcare set the course for pioneering motion-free imagine for routine clinical applications at Arab Health 2008

New vue point high definition application improves small lesion detection and enables advanced image processing

Dubai, UAE; February 02, 2008: ­Continuing its commitment to advancing the earlier diagnosis of disease, GE Healthcare is addressing the biggest clinical challenge in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with exclusive technologies for respiratory and cardiac motion management. GE's exclusive MotionFree imaging technologies, along with new VUE Point High Definition applications to improve small lesion detection and advanced image processing, went on display at Arab Health 2008.

These MotionFree capabilities which went on display at this year's Arab Health will help enable radiologists to work efficiently, accurately and ultimately help offer patients confidence in their healthcare decisions.  In many cases disease can be successfully treated - if doctors can detect and intervene early. And for patients who've successfully battled cancer, the trick is keeping it at bay. With higher degree of accuracy, motion-free imaging for GE Healthcare's PET/CT technology enables physicians to see disease earlier, localize and personalize treatment and carefully monitor that treatment.

Among the showcased items:

PET/CT - GE's Discovery™ Dimension Sets Course for Pioneering - Motion-Free PET/CT Imaging for Routine Clinical Applications

GE Healthcare's new version of Discovery Dimension will help clinicians advance towards the goal of motion-free PET/CT imaging. The Discovery Dimension features allow the clinician to address the PET and CT imaging mismatches or lesion blurring related to respiratory and cardiac motion.  These include motion correction techniques that effectively improve clinical results and minimize blur caused by motion. MotionFree PET/CT imaging helps address the challenge of radiation treatment planning by providing accurate tumor delineation for a more precise treatment plan.

MotionFree works to improve lesion detection, lesion localization, quantitative accuracy and radiation therapy planning: 

Lesion Detection - It clarifies the image and removes blurring artifacts due to respiratory motion. 

Lesion Localization - It offers greater confidence in diagnostic location of tumor.

Quantitative Accuracy - It recovers the measured standard uptake values (SUVs) for lesions. 

Radiation Therapy Planning - It provides precise procedure planning.

Cardiac Alignment - Ensures proper registration between PET and CT used for attenuation correction.

"If you're not thinking about motion -- or trying to account for its effect on your diagnostic confidence -- you're missing a large part of the picture," said Hadi Moufarrej, general manager of GE Healthcare's Molecular Imaging business. "Not only is GE thinking about motion, we're doing something about it."

VUE Point High Definition PET Image Processing Improves Small Lesion Detection, Enables Advanced Image Processing.

GE Healthcare's PET/CT exclusive technology - VUE Point High Definition PET Image Processing application can help improve small lesion detectability, clinical confidence and exam productivity.  Available on the Discovery Dimension with new installations or by ContinuumTM field upgrades for installed base Discovery ST systems, clinicians can perform advanced PET image generation to improve both qualitative and quantitative accuracy.

"It will become increasingly important to improve the quantitative performance of PET/CT for the measurement of response to therapy," said Moufarrej. "This new release of VUE Point is another example of GE's commitment to help enable the earlier detection and monitoring of disease with advanced molecular imaging technology, in both hardware and software."

VUE Point HD incorporates advanced proprietary image reconstruction algorithms, including volume scatter correction and a patented image projection technique developed at GE's Global Research facility, and is enabled by the Volume CT reconstruction technology development. VUE Point HD is applicable to both 2D and 3D PET acquisition modes, static, dynamic and motion imaging.

-Ends-

About GE Healthcare:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.

GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a US$17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people 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 further information, please contact:  
Heather McPhail / Adnan Abdel-Razzak
ASDA'A Public Relations
Exclusive Affiliate of Edelman PR Worldwide in Middle East and North Africa
Tel: (+971 4) 334 4550
Email: h.mcphai@asdaa.com / a.razzak@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2008