With newly dedicated business segment, GE Healthcare announces vision for Molecular Imaging industry; highlights comprehensive solution portfolio.

WAUKESHA, Wis.–GE Healthcare will present a new vision for molecular imaging, “Understanding disease. From the beginning,” reinforced by its innovative platform of imaging agents and imaging systems at the 56th annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, June 13- 17, in Toronto, Canada.

“Looking at the future of healthcare, we understood the need to dedicate an entire business segment to molecular imaging,” said Terri Bresenham, newly appointed vice president of GE Healthcare’s molecular imaging business. “We are in the unique position of providing a complete portfolio of clinically-relevant offerings, from imaging agents to imaging systems. At GE, we have the capability to provide single touch-point solutions to our global customers.”

At SNM 2009, GE Healthcare will feature SPECT/CT, PET/CT, radiopharmacy and pre-clinical technologies that address some of the biggest issues facing healthcare providers, such as inaccuracy caused by motion in PET/CT imaging, the need for better visualization of disease and efficient workflow in SPECT/CT, faster throughput for pre-clinical imaging and more consistent and compliant imaging agent production in radiopharmaceuticals.

“We are focused on advancing the field of molecular imaging to help all clinicians see disease earlier than ever before, specifically in the areas of neurodegenerative diseases, cardiology, and oncology, ” said Will Downie, molecular imaging leader for GE Healthcare’s Medical Diagnostics business. “We are proud to be a leading voice emphasizing the value of molecular imaging and its impact on early diagnosis and treatment.”

GE recently launched a company-wide health initiative dubbed “Healthymagination,” in line with the renowned, environmentally conscious, Ecomagination program. Healthymagination is focused on sustainable health, enabled by innovation that lowers cost, improves quality and touches more people.

“Our commitment to understanding disease from the beginning and utilizing this understanding for innovation, has the opportunity to revolutionize healthcare,” said Bresenham. “At GE, we view innovation as a way to lower the costs in healthcare and improve the quality of outcomes for more people.”

Nuclear Medicine

GE showcases one of the greatest nuclear cardiology revolutions in fifty years with its Alcyone Technology, a nuclear cardiology platform combining cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors, focused pin-hole collimation, 3D reconstruction, and stationary data acquisition, to improve workflow, dose management, and overall image quality. Alcyone’s focused multi-pinhole collimation has been strategically positioned to view cardiac anatomy and pathology with greater clarity and speed, resulting in scan times as short as 3 minutes. Unlike conventional nuclear imaging, all views are acquired simultaneously during a fully stationary SPECT acquisition, eliminating equipment movement during the scan and reducing the risk of motion artifacts. Available in SPECT (Discovery NM 530c) and SPECT/CT (Discovery NM/CT 570c) configurations, Alcyone technology will take a department and its workflow to new heights.

The Discovery NM/CT 570c SPECT/CT system featuring Alcyone Technology, has the ability to perform a complete cardiac acquisition in less than five minutes time including myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA), and calcium scoring (CaSC). The Discovery NM/CT 570c also improves dose management, and enables more convenient patient scheduling in comparison to separate, conventional SPECT and CT exams.

IT Applications

GE Healthcare allows clinicians the opportunity to simplify their imaging department with the launch of the Xeleris Suite, harnessing the diagnostic power of Nuclear Medicine clinical applications integrated with the functionality of Centricity PACS RA1000 workstation. Xeleris Suite on Centricity RA1000 allows users to operate from a single radiology department worklist, creating one shared worklist for the entire Nuclear Medicine department. The simple, customizable user interface brings nuclear review far beyond the limitations of simple screen captures and the raw data. This includes a wide array of clinical applications such as Xeleris Myometrix and Emory Cardiac Toolbox™ cardiac analysis tools, as well as SPECT/CT and PET/CT image review. The result is the opportunity for improved clinical productivity and diagnostic confidence with the ability to read relevant exams from multiple modalities in one location.

PET/CT

As the powerful Discovery PET/CT 600 series continues to expand, GE is proud to announce the Discovery PET/CT 690 – a premier molecular imaging tool designed go beyond the needs of the clinical practice and provide the necessary tools and technologies to explore the future of PET/CT imaging.

With specialized detector configuration designed for sensitivity, event throughput and efficiency, researchers and clinicians have the necessary speed in workflow, protocol flexibility and unique timing resolution technology to help forge new frontiers in clinical techniques, drug discovery and motion management.

All of the Discovery PET/CT 600 Series products incorporate industry leading, MotionFree imaging technologies into the clinical workflow. The system allows clinicians and researchers to align PET and CT gated images to compensate for movement in all regions of the body, most importantly those regions subject to respiration motion. GE’s breakthrough MotionFree imaging technology on the Discovery PET/CT 690 is integrated with VUE Point FX, an advanced high-definition reconstruction technique incorporating the element of time. Combined, these technologies have the potential to improve small lesion detection, image quality, and better therapy response monitoring.

“With the Discovery PET/CT family of products, we bring flexibility to the market,” said Jim Mitchell, general manager of GE Healthcare’s PET business. “We deliver platforms designed to meet the immediate needs of clinicians, while providing researchers with tools to explore the future of molecular imaging.”

Pre-clinical Imaging

Opening the door to new diagnostic imaging applications, GE Healthcare’s pre-clinical imaging serves the development of new therapeutics and tracers by using newest imaging technologies with animal disease models. The eXplore speCZT, the first full-ring solid-state detector small animal SPECT, focuses on high throughput and rapid dynamic imaging. The system utilizes a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector with high-energy resolution to enable dual or triple radionuclide imaging. Understanding researcher’s multi-modality needs, the Triumph pre-clinical system, is an all digital, fully integrated molecular imaging system for biomedical research and pharmaceutical development, designed to accommodate any combination of SPECT, PET, and CT.

Radiopharmacy Systems

Molecular imaging is only possible with the latest in imaging agents and radiopharmaceuticals. GE Healthcare simplifies the complexity of radiopharmacy infrastructure into a single touch-point solution. TRACERcenter-GMP is a combination of equipment, information and services that allow you to establish and operate your research or clinical PET tracer production center with confidence by providing state-of-the-art instrumentation, comprehensive documentation and GMP training and consulting services to provide new centers with support and knowledge for the production of PET tracers.

Innovation Center

GE Healthcare’s Innovation Center will feature a look at next-generation molecular imaging concepts, developments and innovations. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how GE is understanding disease, from the beginning.

Radiotracers and Molecular Imaging Agents

GE’s advancements in molecular imaging equipment are matched only by our advancements in molecular imaging agents. Featured at SNM 2009 are key products, AdreView™ (Iobenguane I 123) and Myoview™ (99mTc-Tetrofosmin). AdreView, which is approved for use in the U.S. and Europe, is the only FDA-approved I-123 mIBG agent for use in the detection of primary or metastatic pheochromocytoma or neuroblastoma as an adjunct to other diagnostic tests. AdreView is not approved for use in Canada. AdreView is backed by a rigorous prospective clinical trial, and allows use of planar and SPECT imaging.

Myoview is a Myocardial Perfusion Imaging agent and is used around the globe. It combines diagnostic accuracy, myocardial uptake and retention, and high sensitivity and specificity for detecting angiographically significant Coronary Artery Disease. Myoview also provides for shorter study completion time with fewer re-scans due to background activity.

About Myoview

Myoview™ (technetium Tc-99m Tetrofosmin)

In studying patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease, care should be taken to ensure continuous cardiac monitoring and the availability of emergency cardiac treatment. As with all injectable drug products, allergic reactions and anaphylaxis may occur. Pharmacologic induction of cardiovascular stress may be associated with serious adverse events such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, hypotension, bronchoconstriction, and cerebrovascular events. Caution should be used when pharmacologic stress is selected as an alternative to exercise; it should be used when indicated and in accordance with the pharmacologic stress agent’s labeling. The most common adverse reactions reported from post-marketing experience with MYOVIEW included rash, urticaria, abnormal vision, allergic reactions, and fever. For more information and full prescribing information visit www.myoview.com.

About AdreView—NOT APPROVED IN CANADA, APPROVED IN THE U.S. and EUROPE

AdreView™ (iobenguane I 123) Injection

AdreView contains benzyl alcohol (10.3 mg/mL), which may cause serious reactions in premature or low birth-weight infants. Benzyl alcohol has been associated with a fatal “Gasping Syndrome” in premature infants and infants of low birth weight. Have anaphylactic and hypersensitivity treatment measures available prior to AdreView administration. AdreView is cleared by glomerular filtration and is not dialyzable. The radiation dose to patients with severe renal impairment may be increased due to the delayed elimination of the drug. AdreView is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to iobenguane or iobenguane sulfate. In clinical trials the most common adverse reactions seen were dizziness, rash, pruritis, flushing, or injection site hemorrhage reported in less than 1% of patients. For more information and full prescribing information visit www.adreview.com.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $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.