- With over 30 years of MR experience, GE Healthcare offers broad portfolio of MR solutions in the Middle East at Arab Health 2013
Dubai, UAE; January 28, 2013: Today at Arab Health 2013, GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) is showing its revolutionary 510(k) pending Silent Scan*, a technology designed to address one of the most significant impediments to patient comfort---excessive acoustic noise generated during an MR scan. Conventional MR scanners can generate noise in excess of 110 dBA (decibels) levels, roughly equivalent to rock concerts, and requiring ear protection. GE's pending Silent Scan technology is designed to reduce MR scanner noise to near ambient (background) sound levels and thus improve a patient's MR exam experience. GE Healthcare is unveiling the Silent Scan MR, 510(k) pending at U.S FDA and not available for the time being, in the Middle East at Arab Health, Saeed Hall, Booth #S3B10 at 2pm.
"Silent Scan promises to be a huge breakthrough for the MR industry and for patients everywhere," says Maher Abouzeid, GE Healthcare's President & Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East and Pakistan. "It reflects our focus on humanizing healthcare technologies. Excessive acoustic noise is a major cause of patient discomfort during MR scans and GE is addressing that with Silent Scan, a major innovation in the healthcare industry."
Historically, acoustic noise mitigation techniques have focused on insulating components and muffling sound as opposed to treating the noise at the source. With Silent Scan, acoustic noise is essentially eliminated by employing a new advanced 3D acquisition and reconstruction technique called Silenz, in combination with GE Healthcare's proprietary design of the high-fidelity MR gradient and RF system electronics. Silent Scan is designed to eliminate the noise at its source; with Silent Scan, patients will experience a more relaxing scanning environment.
Silent Scan is one way in which GE MR is Humanizing MR and putting patients first. GE's MR systems deliver superb image quality and an optimized patient experience, balancing caring design with insightful technology and offers a deep portfolio of solutions that address the varying needs of customers across the region.
Also on show at Arab Health are:
GE Healthcare Discovery* MR750w 3.0T1
The innovative GE Healthcare Discovery* MR750w 3.0T1 MR is the newest w-series system and is the first-of-its-kind to be installed in the region. Offering a wide-range of advanced clinical functionality and uncompromised image quality, the MR750w was designed to be patient friendly, allowing greater use of feet-first scanning in addition to traditional head-first scanning; and introduces a larger, 70cm patient 'bore' (the area where the person lies to be scanned), and a patient-friendly design to help alleviate patient anxiety and stress during the scan. In particular, it accommodates patients who are usually difficult to scan, such as those who are elderly or very young, or those who are in pain and require a larger imaging system.
A detachable table, equipped with comfort tilt to help better position the head and neck during brain and spinal exams, is intended to help improve comfort, which helps reduce patient movement, thereby enhancing image quality.
GE Healthcare Optima MR360 Advance and Brivo MR355
The Optima MR360 Advance is a full-featured 1.5T system that is designed to enhance the patient's MR experience while improving productivity and clinical confidence. This system's technology is engineered to skillfully balance refined workflow capabilities, a broad array of clinical applications, while improving the patient's MR experience. It features GE MR's Caring Design that is welcoming for the patient and intuitive for the technologist. The Optima MR360 Advance is available with the exclusive Needle Free Suite of clinical applications that can help reduce the need for biopsy, contrast, and sedation for patients. The system is intended to offer 16 channels and newly-designed RF coils that further improve image quality and productivity.
The Brivo MR355 Inspire is designed to be a practical and easy-to-use 1.5T MR system with a broad array of clinical applications that is intended to enhance diagnostic confidence for clinicians, with intuitive workflow and a user interface that enhance productivity. This system is engineered to marry the diagnostic benefits of high-performance MR technology with a low total cost of ownership. The Brivo MR355 Inspire also features the new Caring Design to improve patient comfort.
Both the Optima MR360 Advance and Brivo MR355 Inspire are intended to be available with GE's Express coil technology that was designed to be intuitive and easy for technologists to use without sacrificing image quality. This is also paired with a new low-height table for easy patient access, even for larger patients.
Both systems are designed to feature the OpTix Optical RF technology, which offers high channel count, analog to digital signal conversion where it matters -- inside the scan room to minimize noise and signal degradation, but away from the patient to enhance comfort and safety. OpTix provides up to 27% higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over our conventional, analog signal receivers, improving image quality and clinical confidence.
The Optima MR360 Advance and Brivo MR355 Inspire are engineered to use ecomagination-certified technologies like efficient gradients, water-cooling, super capacitors, and a Power Distribution Unit with a 28% lower energy rating, reducing energy consumption by 34% compared to previous generations. With all of these ecomagination features, these systems are intended to lower the total cost of ownership while still delivering excellent clinical performance.
"With 30 years of experience in MR innovation and refinement, the GE Healthcare's MR portfolio is built on patient insights and technology that our customers know and trust," said Stephen Gibbs, General Manager for GE Healthcare's MR portfolio in the Middle East. "These systems are designed to enhance productivity and patient experience with our award-winning caring design and deliver the excellent performance clinicians need. In particular, the Optima MR360 Advance and Brivo MR355 Inspire are engineered to offer advanced clinical applications on eco-friendly systems while lowering the total cost of ownership for our customers."
Mr Gibbs added: "Across the GCC region, Levant, North Africa and Pakistan, MR is becoming an established and vital part of the diagnostic segment. The versatility of MR means that across all these markets, access to the technology is becoming an essential feature of imaging departments. With a market in excess of US$250 million, users and clinicians want more access to the benefits of diagnostic results and non-radiation techniques. The average number of MRs across these markets and geographies is still less than three systems per million population -- meaning an increasing demand for diagnostic systems that address healthcare needs, and technology that can quickly and accurately diagnose the diseases in the populations seen across these countries."
Visit GE Healthcare's stand at Arab Health at Saeed Hall, Booth #S3B10 at the Dubai International Convention Center. With over 3,500 exhibitors, Arab Health is the world's longest running healthcare exhibition and congress and is now in its 38th year. About 85,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, from over 140 countries.
The platinum Sponsor of Arab Health and a key partner of choice to healthcare providers across the Middle East, GE Healthcare will also present its diverse portfolio of products, services and customer solutions as part its commitment to strengthening the region's healthcare infrastructure.
Kelly Home
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600
Nivine William
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600
Caroline Wehbeh
GE Communications Leader, North Africa
[email protected]
+971 4 429 6318