New technology to measure tissue elasticity introduced by GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare today introduced MR-Touch, a visual palpation technology that uses low frequency sound waves in combination with MRI to measure tissue elasticity. For centuries, clinicians have evaluated tissue stiffness—the physical property of tissue most affected by disease—through palpation. Based on technology invented at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) and licensed to GE Healthcare,

Recently FDA cleared, MR-Touch is a certified healthymagination product and has been third-party validated to reduce costs and increase the quality of healthcare. MR Touch extends the principles of palpation with a precise, non-invasive and cost-effective way to evaluate tissue stiffness.

“GE is proud to be the first to offer technology that has the potential to fundamentally improve the way disease is detected, monitored and understood,” said Jim Davis, General Manager of Global MR, GE Healthcare. “MR-Touch is a clear reflection of our healthymagination vision and underscores the importance of breakthrough innovation to delivering the highest level of patient care.”

MR-Touch provides clinicians with a highly precise, non-invasive method to detect changes in liver tissue. The complete view of the liver, versus individual samples, enables clinicians to improve diagnostic confidence, better monitor disease progression and provide more informed preventative guidance. Perhaps most importantly, a non-invasive method supports a comfortable experience for the patient and reduces risks of complications and errors.

“For centuries, physicians have relied on the sense of touch to reliably diagnose certain diseases,” said Richard Ehman, MD, Professor of Radiology and leader of the team that developed MR elastography at Mayo Clinic. “Today we know that abnormal tissue stiffness can actually be a cause of some disease processes. However, many regions of the body are not accessible to palpation and conventional diagnostic imaging technologies do not allow physicians to assess tissue stiffness. The introduction of MR elastography as a product by GE is an important milestone It will also allow physicians around the world to explore new applications of this unique diagnostic imaging technology.”

GE Healthcare will also feature MR-Touch at the annual meeting of the Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA), booth #4029, at Chicago’s McCormick Place from November 29-December 4, 2009. MR-Touch will be commercially available with the Optima MR450w 1.5T system and requires a modest software upgrade along with a hardware accessory to a conventional MR scanner.