OREANDA-NEWS. November 28, 2012. Today at RSNA 2012, GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) focused attention on its next-generation products and solutions in computed tomography and Advantage Workstation with the announcement of three scanners now available – the Optima* CT660 FREEdom Edition, the Optima* CT540, and the Discovery* CT750 HD FREEdom Edition. This further represents more than USD 800 million of investment over 15 years. GE Healthcare’s innovative technologies continue to help redefine “low dose” with novel dose-reporting solutions, unique image reconstruction techniques, far-reaching Dose Check upgrades, online courses, and a new informational website, which together help physicians provide patients with unparalleled dose-conscious care.

“Year after year, GE’s CT and AW businesses are industry leaders in cutting edge technology that improves diagnostic image quality while enabling lower dose, and this year is no exception,” said Steve Gray, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare’s CT and AW business. “Our new Optima products in particular are assisting in making the experience of getting a CT scan better for the patient, the radiologist administering the scan, and the physician interpreting the scan’s results.”

Cardiac

GE is proud to present the Optima* CT660 FREEdom Edition which features GE’s exclusive Motion FREEdom with intelligent coronary motion correction and is a platform that enables fast, high performance imaging with expanded capabilities for use in the emergency room and innovative dose reduction features.

Based on exclusive FREEdom technologies (Fast Registered Energies & ECG), this innovative system represents a solution to “freeze” coronary motion in higher heart rate coronary CTA exams by the introduction of intelligent motion correction via SnapShot* Freeze.

SnapShot* Freeze can help significantly reduce coronary motion and overcome the inherent limitation of all hardware-only solutions. By precisely detecting vessel motion and velocity, SnapShot Freeze can determine actual vessel position and intelligently correct the effects of motion during cardiac CT exams.

With the Optima* CT660, users can scan quickly in one pass with diagnostic image quality and images reconstructed in real time. The patient can be scanned in seconds and that is critical in emergency room visits. The Optima* CT660 allows extended coverage of 80 mm with VolumeShuttle, providing twice the brain coverage for a single bolus of contrast at lower dose than continuous acquisition techniques. The high power capability and thin slices of the Optima* CT660 also provide the demanding clarity needed for detecting small lesions.

The Optima CT660 FREEdom Edition is also the first CT system that is both ecomagination-qualified and healthymagination-validated, two of GE’s global initiatives aimed at transforming healthcare delivery through innovation, partnerships and sustainability. It consumes up to 60% less energy than previous GE CT systems and boasts a 15% lower siting requirement compared to other 64-channel detector scanners. Over the life of the product, these substantial savings can translate into lower operational costs.

GE will also showcase the Discovery* CT750 HD FREEdom Edition, the world’s first Cardiac Spectral CT.

Patient Care

The Optima* CT540 is now available to customers around the world. This product boasts an updated user interface, enhanced workflow updates with the patient and professionals in mind, and dose reduction technology designed around ASiR*, the most widely used CT iterative reconstruction technology worldwide. The Xtream workflow management tools have been improved in order to maximize productivity:

• Basic patient information is displayed on the gantry LCD touch screen, along with distraction videos for patients.
• Default Patient Positioning (DPP) with preset positioning
• Dynamic Transition with SmartPrep with Xtream Injector that starts the injection process in synchronization with “Start Scan” on CT system to simplify the enhancement exam workflow
• Emergency patient mode as a dedicated user interface (UIF) to start emergency exams quickly
• 10 Prospective Multiple Reconstruction (PMR) can be pre-programmed as part of the scan protocol prior to acquisition to make reading smoother

Technology

By embedding its most popular AW advanced visualization applications into PACS, AW Server enables a workflow experience where all radiology tools come together. This new version of AW Server also delivers virtualization and scalability to address the growing need for advanced visualization across the enterprise. AW Server and applications deliver one seamless workflow environment that optimizes your reading experience and productivity, from the moment you acquire the image until you report your results.

* Trademark of General Electric Company.