NIH awards $1.2 million to GE Global Research to develop a low-cost transducer

In the quest to expand access to high quality prenatal care to communities with limited healthcare services, GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), has been awarded a two-year, $1.2 million project under the federal stimulus program from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a low-cost transducer for portable ultrasound systems that maintains the highest degree of image quality. The transducer is the device placed on the abdomen of an expectant mom, which transmits and receives signals that generate real-time images of activity inside the womb.

The development of a low-cost transducer would greatly support GE’s healthymagination vision by expanding ultrasound use beyond the hospital and into underserved communities worldwide. Healthymagination represents GE’s commitment to drive new technologies and products that reduce costs, improve quality and increase access to healthcare. Expanding ultrasound use to underserved communities could help improve the detection and diagnosis of life-threatening maternal conditions such as ectopic pregnancy, placental previa, and fetal malposition. Ultrasound is also uniquely capable of accurately prognosing preeclampsia - a dangerous form of hypertension that arises in pregnancy. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1,400 women die each day from maternal causes and for every woman who dies, twenty more suffer injuries, infection, and disability in pregnancy and childbirth.

“We can make prenatal care more accessible by simplifying the use and reducing the cost of medical ultrasound systems,” said Scott Smith, Principal Investigator on the transducer project for GE Global Research. “To get there, the industry needs a breakthrough to substantially lower the cost of ultrasound transducers. We are working on a new printing technique in the lab that could deliver the manufacturing process needed to make this possible.”

In recent years, medical ultrasound has trended to smaller, lower cost systems because of significant advances in electronics miniaturization. GE is a leader in this miniaturization revolution, recently announcing a new, mobile ultrasound product, the Vscan. Vscan, an ultra-small, ultra-smart pocket-sized device, is not yet commercially available in U.S.

While the imaging console, has dramatically shrunk in size, weight and cost, the transducers, have remained largely unchanged. Transducers have become the most costly and labor-intensive component of an ultrasound system. GE researchers are developing a new manufacturing process for the transducer that they believe can potentially reduce labor and production costs.

Smith said, “In addition to reducing the cost of the transducer, GE is developing new technology that will make ultrasound easier to master, use, and interpret. We can build new intelligence into these systems that can assist in spotting potential issues. These mobile, high quality, and easy-to-use ultrasound systems will allow a wider range of providers to deliver better quality healthcare, and to do it in more places, like ambulances and small doctor’s offices, not just hospitals and specialists."

One of the issues in underserved areas is access to medical specialists. Pregnant women in these communities are more likely to receive their care from medical personnel such as family or emergency medicine providers who may not have specific obstetrical ultrasound training. By automating ultrasound systems to aid in diagnosis and spot other issues, GE seeks to expand the number of healthcare personnel who could be trained to operate these systems.

Besides developing the technology, GE will work with Maternal and Fetal Medicine physicians at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (part of Intermountain Healthcare) to evaluate the equipment and education of young doctors in a hospital and a rural clinic. These physicians actively participate with GE Healthcare in Imaging the World, a non-profit organization committed to saving lives by bringing diagnostic imaging to rural communities around the world.