*Introduces Lullaby Warmer for every newborn - a healthymagination product
*70% more cost effective compared to imported products and has potential to increase healthcare access by 15% to under-served population
*Designed and developed in India for India and the world
*Increased focus on maternal infant care -- GE to increase portfolio by 35% to expand healthcare access globally
Chennai, May 29, 2009: GE Healthcare, the US$17 billion healthcare business of global major General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) as part of its 'healthymagination' initiative to reduce costs, increase quality and access to affordable healthcare, launched the Lullaby Warmer today. The Lullaby Warmer has the potential to help caregivers improve access to quality infant care in developing countries where nearly 90% of the world's births occur.
During the birthing process, an infant's body temperate drops quickly once outside the controlled environment of the mother's womb. Without the physiological mechanisms to fight off cold, the availability of warmth is the first line to survival for the newborn! The baby needs a device that can provide delicate warmth, emulating the mother's womb.
Globally, 139 Million births occur each year, of which approximately 4 Million neonates (less than 1 month old) die from mostly preventable causes. At least 50% of global births occur in underserved settings where access to affordable technology remains limited. Twenty-five percent of the world's births occur in India.
Reducing child mortality increasingly depends on tackling neonatal mortality. Globally, an estimated 37% of deaths among children under five occur in the first month of life, most in the first one week. India has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and this remains one of the most neglected care areas. Almost 53% of births in India go unattended by skilled people with no access to critical equipment like baby warmers, incubators, phototherapy systems etc.
"The healthcare industry in India is challenged by rising costs, inequality of access and persistent quality issues," said V Raja, President & CEO, GE Healthcare South Asia . "We need new cost effective and reliable solutions to bridge the huge gap of unmet healthcare needs in India. Addressing this need will help us grow as well."
"Healthymagination is our new business strategy that seeks to help people live healthier lives, support customer success and help GE grow," Raja said. "We will invest in innovations that help to measurably reduce cost and improve, access and quality of healthcare. That means bringing to market high tech and lower-cost products designed to meet specific local needs, clinical outcomes and process expertise to enable larger access to patients and help customers win. The Lullaby Warmer is an example of a healthymagination product coming from our India R&D Centre"
In developing nations, where at least 20 million low-birth-weight babies are born every year, warmers and incubators are critical lifesaving devices. However, good quality systems have to be imported and at a high cost. Local manufacturers are more affordable than imported equipment; however, these low cost systems also come with lower quality making it unsafe for the most fragile patient in the world -- the baby.
In India, many infants have lost their lives due to technical faults in infant care equipment which neither possess adequate quality certifications nor adhere to basic safety norms.
GE's Lullaby Warmer is designed and manufactured in Bangalore, India for India and for the world. The device is a bed with an overhead heater, showering the newborn with delicate warmth while the baby is bathed after birth and checked for its first vital statistics. Easy-to-use, GE's Lullaby Warmer will improve access to care in the urban and semi-urban settings. It also has a resuscitation (airway management, suction, etc) option available, which helps reduce infant deaths from hypothermia and asphyxia.
"We are looking to increase our Maternal-Infant Care portfolio by 35% by addressing critical needs for both mother and child care. At present, there is a dire need to reduce the infant mortality rates, and our new range of infant warmers, phototherapy and incubators, which are the outcomes of our healthymagination initiative, will address these needs. Our warmers are designed to ensure the utmost safety and care for the newborn" said Mr. Thierry Leclercq, General Manager, Life Support Systems, GE Healthcare.
The Lullaby Warmer is priced 70% lower than imported baby warmers of the same class yet adheres to all the safety standards prescribed by the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) for such life saving equipment.
"In a world where too many women don't survive childbirth and too many newborns don't survive their first month, ensuring the health of every mother and infant is more than a social concern", said S Ganesh Prasad, Director, Clinical Systems, GE Healthcare South Asia. "GE Healthcare designed the Lullaby Warmer with both the newborn and caregiver in mind. Our goal is to ensure maximum safety for the most delicate patient in the world. The Lullaby Warmer is remarkably simple to operate, even for a first-time operator," added Prasad.
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so 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 $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 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 HEALTHYMAGINATION:
Healthymagination is a GE business strategy to deliver and maintain sustainable healthcare globally, built on the core commitments of reducing costs and improving quality and access in healthcare. GE will spend $3 billion over the next six years on research and development that help deliver better care to more people at lower cost. In addition, GE will commit $2 billion of financing over the next six years to drive healthcare information technology and health in rural and underserved areas, plus $1.5 billion for partnerships, content and services.
Healthcare industry is challenged by rising costs, inequality of access and persistent quality issues. The combination of technology, innovations and smarter IT processes will help doctors and hospitals deliver better healthcare to more people at lower cost. Improving healthcare accessibility and reducing costs are essential to recovery and growth.
By 2015, GE's goal is to:
GE's healthymagination is in line with Government of India's commitment to improving health of the nation and patient outcomes through creating availability and access to quality healthcare, preventive healthcare, safe drinking water, etc. especially for those residing in rural areas, the poor, women and children. Access to clean water and a consistent source of energy is a critical component of good health and we have demonstrated this through several of our citizenship projects across the world.
GE has also formed an advisory board to help advise on GE's healthymagination efforts. This includes Dr Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Hrudalaya who is a member of this global advisory board. Attempts are to form an India specific Advisory Board to make it truly reflective of India's healthcare needs.
Notes for the editor:
B. About infant mortality in India:
Safety Standards for Infant Care Equipment:
For a machine to be certified safe, it has to pass through audits and quality clearances such as the IEC. GE's Lullaby Warmer adheres to:
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