The world of healthcare is more reliant on technology and data to save clinicians time through efficient workflows, increased data sharing and analytics. With Industrial Internet-driven software innovations shown at the Radiological Society of North America (#RSNA14) annual meeting, GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) is continuing its dedication to providing new solutions that address clinicians’ need for speed, improved image clarity, connectivity and data availability. These software advancements provide tools to help clinicians improve speed of service and quality of care for patients.
An ultrasound image so clear you can “see a baby’s personality”
Using the latest addition to the Voluson family of ultrasound scanners, the Voluson E10, clinicians can now see babies in the womb with amazing detail. The system uses the same principles of ultrasound that have been used for decades, but the magic is in the software. Like a virtual, high-end, post-production studio, the scanner’s new HDlive Silhouette and HDlive Flow applications use the ultrasound data in new ways to calculate depth, shape and detail. The incredible number-crunching power of the machine allows it to render these images in seconds.
With 4D, the added dimension being time, the baby can be seen moving around in real time. However, the image processing powers of the Voluson E10 can be used for more than a superficial look at the fetus. The technology can be used to obtain images of the baby’s blood vessels, heart, brain and other organs that show depth and structure in a way that helps provide needed tiny details. This can be especially important in the first trimester, when the baby’s early growth is evaluated. Treatments can be planned extensively before the baby is even born.
DV25.0 Continuum Pak for increased clinical productivity and improved patient experience
The DV25.0 Continuum Pak is a package of application suites designed to reduce table time for patients, as well as the duration of time they need to hold their breath during an exam, contributing to a quicker, more comfortable visit.
Introduced for the Discovery* MR750, MR750w and MR450 line as well as Optima* MR450w and 450w GEM platforms, this package of applications includes:
- DISCO: Software designed to deliver CT-like speed for body and oncology exams using advanced dynamic imaging. DISCO uses an advanced, rapid data acquisition and reconstruction approach to generate high-resolution 3D MRI volumes designed to enable CT-like speed but with the value of the MRI contrasts.
- eXpress Prescan 2.0 software optimization that achieves up to a six minute reduction of pre-scan time.
- SilentSuite: expanded to include coverage across the body, while for the first time a complete neuro exam, including diffusion, is now possible at just above ambient noise in the scanner room.
Building a foundation for a coordinated care network: Centricity Clinical Archive 6.0
The Centricity Clinical Archive offering1 provides a robust vendor neutral archive (VNA) solution, which serves as the foundation for a coordinated care network, giving care teams across the enterprise access to data to enhance their efficiency. By unifying and intelligently managing patient images and enterprise content, this newest release includes image management capabilities, mobile image capturing and architecture for compliant accessibility to patient records from an external system.
Centricity Clinical Archive 6.0 is anticipated to be available in the first half of 2015 in the U.S.2 Not all applications will be regulatory approved or licensed in all countries.
Matters of the heart
The newest release of Centricity Cardio Enterprise offers a unified view of cardiology images, with customizable workflows and the ability to view related radiology images. The new cardiology viewer provides access to a patient’s imaging data across specialties, allowing the care team to easily collaborate, regardless of location. As a result, the specialist is able to reduce study time by up to 20 minutes per procedure, helping to enable faster, more informed diagnosis and treatment.
Advanced visualization for hearts, minds and body
As a market leader in advanced visualization tools, GE Healthcare continues to bring new innovations to market that help enhance diagnostic speed and confidence. In partnership with imaging modalities, GE Healthcare is announcing three new applications that expand AW Advanced Visualization VS7 server platform:
- The Heart: TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) Analysis – provides detailed visualization, segmentation and quantification of cardiovascular anatomy for effective planning in treatment strategies.
- Mind: CortexID Suite – an automated solution for analysis and quantification of PET FDG and beta amyloid brain scans. This post-processing software provides comparisons to a normal database and a customizable exam summary report for referring physicians and patients.
- Body: Hepatic VCAR – This post-processing CT analysis software is designed to assist clinicians with the segmentation and assessment of liver morphology and liver lesions, as well as their changes over time.
Omnyx: Enabling better collaboration for pathologists
No cancer diagnosis occurs without a pathologist, and the foundation of patient care is timely, accurate diagnoses. The new Omnyx* IDP precision platform is a digital pathology solution that empowers patient choice and improves care protocols to help deliver enhanced cancer outcomes, elevating the role of pathology in cancer care.3 With the Omnyx precision platform – smart scanners, brilliant software and transformative consulting—pathologists can better collaborate with care teams and connect with patients, eliminating the physical barriers that once separated them, while creating a care pathway where every member is involved and informed. Omnyx, LLC is a joint venture of GE Healthcare and UPMC.
DoseWatch Explore uses data + analytics to make the invisible, visible.
DoseWatch* Explore will be an entry-level, cloud-based web application offering detailed dose and protocol information, analytics and reporting at the touch of a hand. Slated for release in 2015, it will be the latest addition to GE Healthcare’s expanding portfolio of dose management and optimization offerings. This solution will help GE computed tomography (CT) customers gain greater visibility to their practice-level dose performance, requiring no onsite IT integration and minimal resource commitment.
Tracking of exam information, including dose and protocol parameter details, provides visibility to system settings that impact the amount of dose delivered. New levels of visibility around dose can help providers deliver better patient outcomes based on data and analytics, “making the invisible, visible.”
*Trademark of General Electric Company
1 Centricity Clinical Archive includes the following product components: Centricity Enterprise Archive, Universal Viewer ZFP, Caradigm eHIE, Centricity Clinical Gateway, NextGate MatchMetrix EMPI, PACSGEAR PacsSCAN™
2 Note: Any descriptions of future functionality reflect current product direction, are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a commitment to provide specific functionality. Timing and availability are subject to change and applicable regulatory approvals.
3 In the United States, the Omnyx™ IDP System, consisting of the DPS and VL4 Scanner, is cleared by the US Food & Drug Administration for in vitro diagnostic use for Manual Read of the Digital HER2 Application.
GE Healthcare at #RSNA14
Each year in Chicago, the conference of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) provides a forum for showcasing the latest innovations in medical imaging. If you are attending the conference, please visit GE Healthcare at booth number 4039 in McCormick Place south hall. Throughout the week of the event, GE Healthcare will distribute news and information using these digital platforms:GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
