- Advanced technologies help clinicians to detect, diagnose and monitor cancer
Dubai, UAE; January 24, 2012: GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE) is showcasing a range of molecular imaging tools designed to enable treatment evaluation earlier in a patient's care pathway at Arab Health 2012, the region's premier health sector exhibition to be held from January 23 to 26 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Center.
GE Healthcare is introducing to the Middle East region the new Discovery* PET/CT 710, with 128-slice imaging capabilities, and Q.Suite --- a collection of capabilities designed to extend quantitative PET by generating more consistent Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) readings --- enabling clinicians to assess treatment response accurately.
During the course of cancer treatment, clinicians traditionally gauge progress by looking for physical changes in the size of a tumor, typically using computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR). In many cases, however, metabolic changes in a tumor can be perceived earlier than physical ones, so quantitative PET can give physicians an additional, earlier way to view how well a treatment is working.
Aziz Koleilat, General Manager at GE Healthcare in the Middle East region, said: "According to reports, cancer is the third leading cause of death in the UAE, while across the Middle East region there has been a significant increase in the number of cancer cases being reported. With the region facing the challenge of rising healthcare bills, early diagnosis of diseases such as cancer will help in managing the treatment costs.
"We believe the future of PET imaging lies in treatment assessment. By getting answers sooner, clinicians can modify treatment strategies without waiting for physical results. This may increase the chance of an effective therapy, which could potentially improve the quality of life and overall outcome for the patient as well as reduce the cost burden of ineffective treatment."
According to the American Cancer Society in a 2010 report**, the total economic impact of premature death and disability from cancer worldwide was US$895 billion in 2008. This figure represents 1.5 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and does not include direct medical costs, which would further increase economic impact.
Prompted in part by these costs, doctors are seeking quantitative tools to obtain reproducible measurements. This may enable doctors to assess biological changes in a patient confidently during a course of treatment, and allow them to quickly and accurately modify treatment regimens.
Q.Suite is designed to help improve consistency of quantitative measurements in every key area: daily quality control, scanner workflow, motion correction, reconstruction algorithms, and analysis and reporting applications. By combining the capabilities of Q.Suite with updated clinical practices, GE Healthcare believes the consistency of PET measurements can increase dramatically. The goal: a more personalized approach to help raise the standard of care for all patients.
Other nuclear medicine advances from GE Healthcare include the company's hybrid imaging platform --- Discovery NM/CT 670 --- which is designed to help improve workflow while offering excellent dose-management capabilities and overall image quality. After a successful global launch a little over a year ago, the system has been selected by 100 sites around the world. Paired with the Xeleris * 3 processing and review workstation, the Discovery NM/CT 670 has the capability to shorten acquisition times and enable more convenient patient scheduling in comparison to separate, conventional SPECT and CT exams. With conventional nuclear hybrid imaging, a bone imaging protocol can take up to 35 minutes. With the Discovery NM/CT 670 and Xeleris * 3, the imaging time can be reduced to as little as 16 minutes.
The new Discovery NM630 with the Xeleris 3 processing and review workstation allows patient dose to be reduced to as low as 50 percent as those of standard nuclear medicine scanning protocols, or the potential for patients to spend significantly less time on the table during exams, without compromising image quality.
Engineered to help accommodate more patients than previous generation GE nuclear medicine systems, with its large 28-inch (70 cm) wide bore and table capable of handling patients up to 227 kg, the Discovery NM630 provides access to a wide variety of patient sizes. The Discovery NM630 is also fully upgradable to the Discovery NM/CT 670 hybrid imaging platform.
GE Healthcare is also launching new PET tracers to the FASTlab*, a multi-tracer platform for easy and confident production of a broad spectrum of PET tracers. In addition to FDG phosphate and NaF, GE has now released FDG citrate. In the first half of 2012, a clinician's tracer portfolio can be extended with FMISO (HPLC free) and FLT (HPLC free) for research purposes --- all delivered via the single FASTlab platform.
Customers will benefit from the consistently high yields and shorter synthesis time as compared to manual synthesis, enabling more doses per run and increased daily production capacity. FASTlab can help you address your PET tracer production challenges, minimize your cost and meet your evolving needs.
GE Healthcare has several decades of presence in the Middle East region, and its technologies support an overwhelming majority of hospitals. Now in its 37th year, Arab Health is expected to host over 70,000 healthcare professionals, and will feature over 3,000 companies from around the world. Visit GE Healthcare's pavilion, which will be located in Sheikh Saeed Hall - Stand No S3B10.
Kelly Home
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600
Nivine William
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600