WAUKESHA, Wis.--18 February 2009-- GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced the global installation of the new DiscoveryTM PET/CT 600-series scanners, designed to help enable earlier detection and accurate monitoring of disease combined with the latest advancements in molecular imaging technology to explore the development of future applications. The first clinical installs will be completed at Miami Baptist Hospital in Florida, University Hospital of Bichat in Paris, France, Queensland X-Ray at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
“This first set of installations is a big step forward in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease,” said Terri Bresenham, newly appointed vice president and general manager of the company’s global Molecular Imaging business. “Partnering with clinics in the United States, Europe and the Asia/Pacific Region, we will be able to reach more patients globally with the latest advancements in oncology, neurology, and cardiovascular technologies.”
The new PET/CT platform, from GE Healthcare, was built for physicians and molecular imaging researchers in mind, based on their need for more power to explore the potential of PET/CT imaging that includes better PET quantitative accuracy. This new line of PET/CT scanners, combine advanced molecular imaging tools with the large coverage low dose Volume CT helping allow for earlier diagnosis, more accurate tumor location and better assessment of how a patient is responding to cancer treatment. Although mostly for use in oncology, PET/CT can also be used for assisting the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and neurological conditions.
The new system leverages the high-speed, high-resolution capabilities of GE’s advanced CT, the LightSpeed VCT. Volume CT technology, with 40mm of coverage, dramatically reduces CT acquisition times and CT dose. Static organs can be imaged in as little as one second, the lung in as little as two seconds and a whole body trauma could be performed in less than 10 seconds.
“The 64 slice PET/CT with advanced molecular imaging technologies has the potential take the ability of PET/CT to an even greater level of accuracy,” said Hao Vuong, M.D., medical director of PET/CT at Miami Baptist Hospital.
GE's next generation of MotionFree imaging technologies are introduced in the new Discovery 600 series PET/CT, giving clinicians detailed images even in areas of the body subject to movement caused by respiration. GE's breakthrough MotionFree imaging technologies are integrated with VUE Point FX, an advanced high-definition reconstruction technique. Combined, these technologies have the potential to improve small lesion detection, image quality, and better therapy response monitoring.
By combining the LightSpeed VCT with the breakthrough motion management capabilities of the Discovery PET system, the new Discovery PET/CT platform provides the next evolution PET/CT system, bringing clinically-relevant innovations designed to open doors to new and advanced procedure possibilities in non-invasive diagnostic imaging.
Courtesy of GE Healthcare