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ASCO 2008 - GE Healthcare will be showcasing a broad range of technological evolutions in imaging that help healthcare providers at the 44th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists May 30 to June 2, in Chicago, IL.

GE Healthcare will be showcasing a broad range of technological evolutions in imaging that help healthcare providers to understand the molecular root of diseases and explore new paths for detecting, treating and monitoring illnesses earlier at the 44th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists May 30 to June 2, in Chicago, IL.

Visitors to the GE booth will see new advances in molecular imaging technologies such as the IN Cell Analyzer, Positron Emission Tomography/Volume Computer Assisted Reading (PET-VCAR), and Fastlab automated PET radiopharmacy. Next generation technologies will be showcased in the innovative technology pavilion. Additionally, GE Healthcare will demonstrate its breadth in Oncology, from treatment monitoring to productivity enhancing IT solutions.

"GE Healthcare's leadership in molecular imaging continues to attract partners from the pharmaceutical industry and academic centers of excellence worldwide," said Jean-Luc Vanderheyden, global molecular imaging leader at GE Healthcare. "ASCO provides a wonderful opportunity to reach out to health care providers to show all that we can offer and what we are working toward in the fields of oncology and molecular imaging."

IN Cell
Linking discovery and research with clinical oncology, GE Healthcare's IN Cell Analyzer System from its Life Science Division, represents a complete solution for high-content sub-cellular analysis. Used in research and drug discovery, the system performs assays directly inside cells and uses sophisticated image analysis techniques to give quantitative results for those assays for each individual cell. The power of the IN Cell Analyzer comes from using the high throughput it delivers to analyze thousands of cells under different conditions to generate statistically robust data.

PET-VCAR
PET-VCAR is a complement to GE's approach to personal patient management. The system  helps optimize tumor management by enabling early quantification and evaluation of treatment effectiveness, a valuable tool for treatment planning. It features workflow enhancements for both single and multi-exam review, and includes exam-to-exam auto-registration; tumor segmentation and quantification; and multi-planar image review.

"PET-VCAR is designed to make PET/CT images even more useful to the clinician," said Henry Hummel, Global General Manager of GE Healthcare's PET/CT business. "It features an exclusive Interactive Data Analysis (IDA) that provides a 'report card' for clinicians to see, analyze, and compare tumors. That technology allows for better management of tumors over time; and it does so very efficiently."

Fastlab
Fastlab is the first multi-tracer PET chemistry synthesis platform to feature a cassette that incorporates pre-measured, pre-loaded reagents - a dramatic innovation that delivers higher yields, improved reproducibility and faster synthesis than any other platform. It is designed to accommodate different chemistries, facilitating the production of multiple PET tracers. The first application launched on the platform is FDG, the most widely used PET radiopharmaceutical today. GE Healthcare is planning to expand the utility of the platform by developing a range of other radiopharmaceuticals, including GE Healthcare proprietary diagnostic imaging agents.

"FASTlab is a tremendous step forward for PET radiopharmacy," said Jim Mitchell, Global General Manager of GE Healthcare's Molecular Imaging business. "It really is a springboard for future imaging agents that will be needed to advance the field of molecular imaging. With FASTlab's upgradeability, it will be able to produce today's radiopharmacy media and tomorrow's."

Breast MR
The GE Signa Vibrant is a dedicated 1.5T breast MR scanner utilizing High Definition technology and applications specifically designed for breast MR, including: VIBRANT acquisition, BREASE spectroscopy, integrated CADstream (manufactured by Confirma) and a specially designed breast MR patient table that provides optimal imaging and outstanding access for intervention. Signa Vibrant has a unique, patient-friendly design, ideally suited for the environment of many breast-imaging centers.

"We believe GE's new Signa Vibrant scanner will be a great choice for many women's imaging centers or breast imaging programs," said Dave Handler, Global General Manager of GE Healthcare's MR business. "In addition, because of the friendly design, we also believe this product may help alleviate some of the anxiety women feel about breast MRI exams."

Radiation Oncology Solutions
GE helps physicians take aim at cancer with their Advanced Imaging technologies for radiation therapy planning. GE's radiation therapy solutions include advanced imaging technologies with LightSpeedRT16 wide-bore multi-slice CT simulator, Discovery PET-CT scanner, Signa MR system and radiation oncology simulation software, providing tools to maximize the potential of new treatment delivery technologies today and tomorrow.

Centricity
GE Healthcare IT will showcase solutions from its Centricity portfolio, including the Centricity Electronic Medical Record, Practice Solution and PACS. With users ranging from the nation's largest healthcare organization to the solo practitioner, Centricity EMR is a proven ambulatory system relied on by more than 30,000 clinicians nationwide. Centricity Practice Solution is a completely integrated clinical and financial management solution provides a singular approach to a more efficient, high quality practice - extending from the patient’s first visit to final reimbursement.

Centricity PACS improves the speed and consistency of image communication within the radiology department and throughout your enterprise. When integrated with Centricity RIS, it creates a single powerful workflow engine - Centricity RIS/PACS - that allows radiologists to access comprehensive patient information at a single workstation via a single login throughout the enterprise.