GE Healthcare Touts Groundbreaking Medical Imaging Technologies

December 15, 2008

GE Healthcare detailed the commercial availability of three imaging solutions for faster, gentler imaging, which will enable better patient care: the low-dose Discovery CT750 HD, the fast Discovery MR750, and the innovative fusion technology of the LOGIQ E9.

"GE has developed technologies that improve the entire patient experience, from early and more accurate diagnosis to better treatment and management of diseases,” said John Rice, vice chair of GE and president and CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure. “The Discovery CT750 HD, Discovery MR750 and LOGIQ E9 are setting new technological standards in the early detection and diagnosis of many prevalent health issues. We are excited to bring these breakthrough innovations to help patients around the world."

Discovery CT750 HD – The World’s First High-Definition CT with Less Dose

The Discovery CT750 HD, the world’s first high-definition computed tomography (CT) provides an improved image with less radiation dose per scan for patients. This new technology offers up to 83 percent less dose on cardiac scans and up to 50 percent less dose across the rest of the body.

The new scanner gives doctors greater diagnostic confidence through “HD-quality” imaging with 33 percent greater clarity and allows physicians to see small vessels from head to toe – as thin as a human hair. The CT750 also provides clinicians with minimized image distortion, the ability to accurately analyze masses and lesions regardless of their location, and the capability to isolate problems for precise treatment planning.

Dr. James Min, a cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University said, “A coronary CT scan provides exquisite pictures of the heart and enables doctors to get inside the arteries non-invasively to see the level of plaque and blockage with incredible accuracy and speed. Some believe that this is how to stop a heart attack before it happens. The Discovery™ CT750 is poised to become the most accurate and cost effective diagnostic tool we have in the detection of coronary artery disease.”

“While this may be overly optimistic,” Min said, “through the CT scan, we can shift from imaging for intervention to imaging for prevention.”

Discovery MR750 – The World’s Most Powerful MR Scanner for Improved Patient Experience

GE's PROPELLER 2.0 neuroimaging application for the Discovery MR750 enables strong performance in all neuro imaging planes with the implementation of the No Phase Wrap (NPW) technique. NPW allows virtually ghost-artifact-free (doesn't show metal implants in image if they exist) and motion-immune scans.

The Discovery MR750 is one of the world’s fastest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners with greater accuracy and image clarity compared to previous GE scanners while also improving the overall patient experience.

The improved speed of the technology helps radiologists obtain complete information within minutes, supporting informed decision making for treatment. The MR750 allows for up to five times the imaging performance over previous generations, and 60 percent greater coverage and resolution. These improvements offer the freedom for advanced application development, including: a routine liver exam in 15 minutes versus the typical 40-minute exam and a full breast exam in only two sequences as opposed to four or five sequences previously.

The system also allows for easier scans and thus improved workflow. The detachable table improves the patient experience with less time spent in the scanner and reduces patient anxiety by allowing for preparation outside of the MR room, so patients can ask questions and become comfortable prior to their scan.

“There are tremendous clinical advantages to this type of MR technology,” said Dr. Thomas M. Grist, fellow of the American College of Radiology, professor of Radiology, Medical Physics and Bioengineering, and chairman of the Department of Radiology, John H. Juhl University of Wisconsin Medical School. “The accuracy and image quality of the MR750 allows for great efficiencies in our clinical practice, and ultimately better diagnoses for patients.”

LOGIQ E9 – Image Fusion Technology for Better Diagnosis and Treatment

Fusion Technology
Merge / fuse real-time ultrasound with previously acquired CT, MR, PET or ultrasound DICOM images, where you can directly compare lesions while taking advantage of the strengths of each imaging modality. This technology enables you to virtually scan the previous study to match the live ultrasound, making a comparison either side by side or by overlaying the images.

The LOGIQ E9 is an ultrasound platform of the future, fusing ultrasound images with images from other imaging technologies like CT and MR for extraordinary image quality on all patient body types. With tools and capabilities called “Volume Navigation” and “Agile Ultrasound,” the LOGIQ E9 improves workflow and diagnostic confidence for radiology and vascular applications.

Through Volume Navigation, the LOGIQ E9 incorporates two key components to maximize the system’s new agile ultrasound architecture: ‘fusion’ to combine the advantages of real-time ultrasound imaging with the high spatial and contrast resolution of CT, MR or PET; and a ‘GPS-like technology’ to track and mark a patient’s anatomy during the ultrasound exam, bringing confidence and productivity to both diagnostic and interventional studies.

This new GE architecture, called Agile Ultrasound, replaces old assumptions of conventional ultrasound systems with new, modular mathematical models that provide more accurate measurements of how sound interacts with different body tissue types. The result of the LOGIQ E9 architecture is an improved, more life-like image without a lot of manual adjustments to view specific anatomy on a variety of patients – from children to obese adults.

"The LOGIQ E9 takes the diagnostic imaging capability of ultrasound to the next level and significantly increases the confidence in the clinical findings. We can now evaluate any patient - from the smallest newborn to the very largest patients - and merge these high quality ultrasound images with a previously acquired CT or MR scan, and we can do this in real time," said Dr. Phillip Bendick, director of surgical research and technical director of the Peripheral Vascular Diagnostic Center at William Beaumont Hospital. "This merging of data allows us to use the advantages of each type of imaging most effectively and minimizes patients' exposure to radiation, leading us to the safest, fastest and most accurate diagnoses and treatments. The E9 platform shows us the incredible future for ultrasound."