OREANDA-NEWS. June 19, 2012. Today, GE Healthcare, alongside the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), have showcased the broad range of medical imaging technologies they will supply for the care of competing athletes at London 2012. The equipment, housed at the main Polyclinic located in the Athletes’ Village in the Olympic Park in Stratford, will provide up to 16,000 athletes and team officials staying in the Village during the Olympic Games and 6,200 athletes and team officials during the Paralympic Games with access to excellent healthcare services.

Technologies featured include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, X-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), I.T. and monitoring systems.


As a company, GE Healthcare is working closely with medical leaders at the London 2012 Games to advance the use of advanced medical imaging technologies to optimize and improve athletic performance as competitors strive for medal winning status.

Said John Dineen, CEO of GE Healthcare: “We are delighted to be providing a broad range of our latest healthcare technology for the London 2012 Polyclinic. In line with GE’s ‘healthymagination’ vision and its commitment to sports medicine, these technologies will provide insight into athlete health, as well as offering wider benefits for the general public. The use of technologies that help monitor the health of Olympic athletes will be used before, during and after the London 2012 Games.”

As worldwide sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games, GE Healthcare has been working closely with LOCOG, to provide significant support from a healthcare standpoint and offer the world’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes access to state-of-the-art imaging facilities.

Bettina Fitt, Country Manager UK & Ireland, GE Healthcare commented: “We are very proud to have a long standing legacy of working with sports doctors and helping to equip them with GE’s latest medical imaging technologies giving them the tools to aid in early diagnosis and monitoring of injuries, which can help treatment to be personalized and timing for return to the competition arena be more accurately predicted. In addition, as a proud sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games we also hope our work with the Olympic Games will provide us with new insights into how our technologies can help give physicians the information they need to treat the general public.”

Highlights of the equipment in the Polyclinic


Particular GE Healthcare technologies that will be in use at the Olympic Polyclinic include:

- A GE Discovery* MR750w wide bore 3T MRI scanner and an Optima* MR450w wide bore 1.5T MRI scanner, both with GEM Suite. These are designed for a better patient experience because the area where the patient lies is wider than in conventional scanners, and more comfortable to lie on thanks to GEM Suite of Coils which refers to the patient friendly, flexible ‘coils’ that embrace the patient, helping to minimize anxiety and motion during an exam by naturally following the contours of the human body. Each system offers exceptional image quality.

- A Discovery* 750HD CT scanner offers high quality, detailed imaging of bones, joints and muscles, providing clinicians with improved image clarity with the ability for them to lower dose which in turn assists clinicians in providing a confident diagnosis to patients.

- GE Healthcare’s Discovery* XR656 wireless, digital x-ray system, VENUE* 40 and LOGIQ* E9 ultrasound systems, which help doctors diagnose musculoskeletal injuries, complete the Polyclinic’s radiology offerings, with three MAC* 5500 ECG diagnosis systems also on hand to help analyse, monitor and interpret heart rhythms.

- GE Healthcare IT’s Centricity* RIS/PACS systems will store the patient’s imaging records, enabling a quicker diagnosis through availability of the complete electronic record.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said, “We have always put athletes’ needs at the heart of the Games. When they are preparing for the most important moment in their sporting careers, it’s vital they are in peak condition with all the support they need. We aim to give that medical support to help them deliver their best performance. Our sponsors and our medical team who are experts in their field will pay a vital role in achieving this and I thank them for their ongoing support.”

By making a wide range of medical technology available for use within the Olympic and Paralympic Village and all of the sporting events being held at the Olympic Park, clinicians will be better able to diagnose potential injuries earlier or simply monitor treatment, with a view to ensuring athletes are able to return to their sport as quickly as possible, helping them to stand the best chance of winning a medal for their country.

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