• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

The LightSpeed VCT, World's First Volumetric CT Scanner, Officially Fastest Selling Product in GE Healthcare's History

Posted on: Thursday, 17 November 2005, 09:00 CST

GE Healthcare Reaches 500th Global Installation of the LightSpeed VCT; Physicians Endorse Clinical Relevance of LightSpeed VCT, the Only CT Scanner Capable of Imaging the Heart in as Few as Five Heart Beats

GE Healthcare announced today the 500th installation of the world's first volume computed tomography (CT) system, the LightSpeed VCT, making it the fastest selling product in the company's history. GE was the first company to introduce volumetric CT scanning, the ability to combine record-breaking acquisition speed and high-resolution capabilities in a single CT system.

GE's LightSpeed VCT is the only CT scanner capable of 5-Beat Cardiac(TM), an exclusive application that enables physicians to scan the human heart in as few as five beats. As a result, physicians are able to get clearer images of a broader patient population than typical scans acquired by other CT systems.

"The incredible success of GE's LightSpeed VCT and its rapid adoption by physicians around the world is changing the way physicians diagnose and treat heart disease," said Gene Saragnese, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare's Molecular Imaging and CT business. "The LightSpeed VCT is the only technology capable of 5-Beat Cardiac, and GE is the only company to build our technology for physicians, based on their clinical needs, from the ground up. We are helping physicians usher in a new era of rapid, less invasive cardiology."

GE announced today that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will receive the 500th shipment of GE's LightSpeed VCT.

"At UPMC, we are very excited to be implementing this technology," said Dr. Scott A. Mirowitz, professor and chairman, Department of Radiology at UPMC. "We expect that it will make major contributions to the development of new imaging capabilities both for the cardiovascular system and beyond."

The LightSpeed VCT enables physicians to capture images of the heart and coronary arteries in just five heartbeats - something no other CT system can offer. In a single rotation, the LightSpeed VCT creates 64 submillimeter images, totaling 40 millimeter of anatomical coverage, which may be combined to form a three-dimensional view of the patient's anatomy for the physicians to analyze.

The LightSpeed VCT also has the capability to attain 43-millisecond temporal resolution, which means physicians can effectively freeze the motion of the heart in a scan and secure extremely high-quality images of coronary arteries at submillimeter.

LightSpeed VCT Clinical Applications

GE Healthcare has identified opportunities for new and improved diagnostic applications for the LightSpeed VCT based on its coverage, speed and resolution capabilities:

-- 5-Beat Cardiac(TM) - a comprehensive view of the heart and coronary arteries with submillimeter resolution in five seconds. This coverage helps reduce beat-to-beat variability, resulting in more robust, repeatable procedures, as well as greater vessel visualization and shorter breath holds for sick patients.

-- Triple RuleOut(TM) - the ability to help clinicians rule out (or in) the three most life-threatening critical conditions in chest pain in one single scan - aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and coronary artery disease.

-- Stroke WorkUp(TM) - the ability to dynamically acquire both anatomy and perfusion/blood flow to the brain in a single scan.

"The speed and accuracy of the LightSpeed VCT has put GE at the forefront of diagnostic cardiovascular care, " said Saragnese. "The company's unique combination of molecular diagnostics and breakthrough imaging technology like the LightSpeed VCT are changing the diagnostic and treatment paradigm for heart disease."

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians around the world develop new ways to predict, diagnose, inform and treat disease, so their patients can live their lives to the fullest.

GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 43,000 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.

About the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center:

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is the largest integrated health care and finance delivery system in Pennsylvania and one of the leading nonprofit medical centers in the country. A $5.8 billion, 40,000-employee organization, UPMC is the largest employer in western Pennsylvania. More than 4,000 physicians have privileges at UPMC hospitals including about 1,950 employed physicians. UPMC spans the full spectrum of health care delivery with its network of 19 tertiary, specialty and community hospitals and 400 outpatient sites and doctors' offices. UPMC operates the largest trauma center in Pennsylvania with more than 409,000 emergency department visits. With more than 4,000 licensed beds, UPMC has 174,000 admissions per year and 3 million outpatients visits. It is the largest provider of independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing options in the region with 14 freestanding retirement and long-term care facilities.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category