GE Healthcare to showcase its sophisticated imaging systems for oncology at the ASTRO meeting

According to the American Cancer Society, more than one million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In the United States, about 1 out of every 2 men and 1 out of every 3 women will have some type of cancer at some point during their lifetime. The sooner a cancer is detected and treatment begins, the better the patient’s chances for survival.

The GE Healthcare business unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) will spotlight potential connections across the cancer care continuum at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 1-5, 2009. “Oncology care is about making connections,” said Paul Anderson, General Manager of Oncology for GE Healthcare. “It’s about making the connection between the disease, the treatment, the patients and the multi-disciplinary clinical team.”

Need for Sophisticated Imaging

Advances in radiotherapy treatments have required parallel advancements in imaging, providing oncology specialists with imaging technology that moves from basic qualitative information to deliver high-level quantitative patient data. These refinements have allowed oncologists to better target the therapies by connecting all components that are key to personalized patient cancer treatment. The multi-modality oncology suite connects care from pathways to simulate therapy delivery, to gauging the response to actual treatment, to monitoring its efficacy.

GE’s booth at ASTRO will spotlight the connections between disease and treatment, as well as between clinician and patient. At the same time, broader clinical connections that link patient information, department workflow and oncology management will be demonstrated. Products whose spotlighted advances in cancer diagnostics and care include:

• LightSpeed™ RT16
  
  A wide bore CT system specifically designed to meet the needs of a Radiation Oncology department for CT simulation. It delivers excellent image quality and the power to support 4D studies, while allowing extra space in the bore for accurate patient positioning. The system’s capabilities, combined with radiation oncology software applications, help enhance image accuracy for radiation therapy planning.

• Signa™ MR Oncology Package
  
  Enhances magnetic resonance imaging for radiation therapy planning and is compatible with the most widely used GE MRI systems. The package consists of a detachable flat-surface patient table with indexed edges, flexible surface coils for high-resolution imaging and treatment positioning aids.
• Discovery™ PET/CT 600
  
  Features high sensitivity with the next generation of MotionFree technology to deliver a high degree of clinical confidence when simulating therapy.
• LOGIQ® P6 Ultrasound
  
  A small, portable package that handles a broad range of applications, from abdominal to small parts imaging, with exceptional 4-D clarity and definition. LOGIQ P6 supports brachytherapy procedures with report package and compatibility with most stepper device manufacturers.
• Centricity PACS-IW Oncology Workflow
  
  Integrates the web-based design and intuitive interface of PACS-IW with automated PET/CT fusion, analysis and multi-modality reading tools. This integration of oncology image interpretation and review into the multi-modality world of PACS enables clinicians to have easy access to the full set of available clinical information.

Oncology workstation

GE Healthcare will also showcase its powerful oncology workstation that helps reduce time spent on 4D planning and complex multi-modality cases, while streamlining radiation oncology workflow. As a continuous effort to maintain seamless interoperability, GE joined the IHE-RO task force formed by ASTRO for promoting interoperability between vendors. GE Healthcare successfully passed the interoperability testing at the annual IHE-RO connectathon and will continue to work together with IHE-RO to advance these efforts.

• AdvantageSim™ MD
  
  A fast, easy and simple virtual simulation tool that helps streamline workflow from scan to plan. It helps reduce time spent on tasks and helps improve accuracy.

• Advantage 4D
  
  A fast, powerful motion assessment tool that helps make 4D planning routine across the clinical practice.

• Advantage Fusion
  
  Enhances tumor definition by automatically co registering CT, PET and MR images.

“We have a long, diverse relationship with the radiation oncology community,” said Anderson. “GE Healthcare has forged their own connection to this medical specialty by providing advanced tools and solutions that drive productivity and enhance today’s treatment delivery technologies.