GE Healthcare showcases motion-free imaging for routine clinical applications at Arab Health 2008

GE's exclusive MotionFree imaging technologies, along with new VUE Point High Definition applications to improve small lesion detection and advanced image processing, went on display at Arab Health 2008.

These MotionFree capabilities which went on display at this year's Arab Health will help enable radiologists to work efficiently, accurately and ultimately help offer patients confidence in their healthcare decisions. In many cases disease can be successfully treated - if doctors can detect and intervene early. And for patients who've successfully battled cancer, the trick is keeping it at bay. With higher degree of accuracy, motion-free imaging for GE Healthcare's PET/CT technology enables physicians to see disease earlier, localize and personalize treatment and carefully monitor that treatment.

Among the showcased items:

PET/CT - GE's Discovery Dimension

GE Healthcare's new version of Discovery Dimension will help clinicians advance towards the goal of motion-free PET/CT imaging. The Discovery Dimension features allow the clinician to address the PET and CT imaging mismatches or lesion blurring related to respiratory and cardiac motion. These include motion correction techniques that effectively improve clinical results and minimize blur caused by motion. MotionFree PET/CT imaging helps address the challenge of radiation treatment planning by providing accurate tumor delineation for a more precise treatment plan.

MotionFree works to improve lesion detection, lesion localization, quantitative accuracy and radiation therapy planning:

Lesion Detection - It clarifies the image and removes blurring artifacts due to respiratory motion

Lesion Localization - It offers greater confidence in diagnostic location of tumor

Quantitative Accuracy - It recovers the measured standard uptake values (SUVs) for lesions

Radiation Therapy Planning - It provides precise procedure planning

Cardiac Alignment - Ensures proper registration between PET and CT used for attenuation correction

'If you're not thinking about motion - or trying to account for its effect on your diagnostic confidence - you're missing a large part of the picture,' said Hadi Moufarrej, general manager of GE Healthcare's Molecular Imaging business. 'Not only is GE thinking about motion, we're doing something about it.'

VUE Point High Definition PET Image Processing

GE Healthcare's PET/CT exclusive technology - VUE Point High Definition PET Image Processing application can help improve small lesion detectability, clinical confidence and exam productivity. Available on the Discovery Dimension with new installations or by ContinuumTM field upgrades for installed base Discovery ST systems, clinicians can perform advanced PET image generation to improve both qualitative and quantitative accuracy.

'It will become increasingly important to improve the quantitative performance of PET/CT for the measurement of response to therapy,' said Moufarrej. 'This new release of VUE Point is another example of GE's commitment to help enable the earlier detection and monitoring of disease with advanced molecular imaging technology, in both hardware and software.'

VUE Point HD incorporates advanced proprietary image reconstruction algorithms, including volume scatter correction and a patented image projection technique developed at GE's Global Research facility, and is enabled by the Volume CT reconstruction technology development. VUE Point HD is applicable to both 2D and 3D PET acquisition modes, static, dynamic and motion imaging.