GE Healthcare to showcase comprehensive portfolio of advanced imaging technologies at Arab Health 2006

As part of its commitment to providing medical technologies which will help to shape a new era in patient care, GE Healthcare is set to launch its latest range of diagnostic imaging technologies at the annual Middle East healthcare exhibition that is being held from 22-25 January at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

Also a gold sponsor of the Middle East Imaging and Diagnostic Congress, running concurrently with the Arab Health exhibition, GE Healthcare will further take the opportunity to unveil some of its latest advanced technologies, providing medical professionals with the opportunity to learn more about GE's breakthrough products and applications.

"This year at Arab Health, we are pleased to have our largest booth presence ever and are very excited about presenting our latest technology and bio-science innovations which have the potential to help Middle East healthcare providers accelerate personalized healthcare," said Jean-Marc Andral, General Manager - Middle East & Africa, GE Healthcare. "Personalized healthcare is fast becoming the most viable solution in helping medical practitioners diagnose, manage and treat an individual's medical condition earlier and more efficiently."

GE Healthcare will also introduce 'Healthcare Re-Imagined', GE Healthcare's new vision to help clinicians detect diseases earlier and treat their patients more effectively based on better-informed decisions. New GE technologies such as the LightSpeed™ VCT, Discovery VCT, Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging HDE and HDX, the Volume Imaging Protocol for Ultrasound, and Centricity PACS SE are expected to create a lot of buzz during the exhibition.

GE Healthcare will also unveil the company's new series of Computed Tomography (CT) systems that now include much of the proven advanced technology available on the company's volume CT system, the LightSpeed VCT, in a smaller package. This new series of performance scanners, called BrightSpeed™, provides the same exceptional image quality, productivity capabilities and reliability of the industry-leading LightSpeed systems, but on the new BrightSpeed 4-, 8- and 16-slice CT systems.

In addition, GE Healthcare will introduce the new Signa HDe 1.5T which builds on GE's proven high definition (HD) platform while also delivering lower operating costs and reduced overall sitting space. As a result, GE's Signa HDe 1.5T delivers the company's breakthrough HD line of clinical applications to hospitals and imaging centers previously unable to provide onsite 1.5T MR services.

GE Healthcare will also launch a new premium 1.5 Tesla MR scanner called the Signa HDx 1.5T, which allows radiologists to see critical areas of MR images previously compromised by challenging patient conditions as well as the new Signa HDx 3.0T - a premium 3.0 Tesla MR scanner, continuing GE's leadership in the development of 3.0T MR technology since it installed the first-ever clinical 3.0T MR system in 1993.

During the exhibition, GE's stand will highlight technological advancements within diagnostic imaging according to the following modality schedule:

22 January - Computed Tomography (CT) imaging and Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging
23 January - 4D Volume Ultrasound, Digital X-Ray and Mammography
24 January - Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and Clinical Systems
25 January - Molecular Imaging and PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography)

"Our focus on 'Healthcare Re-imagined' is about re-thinking healthcare as we know it today; it is about adopting an 'early health' model of care. This customized approach is paramount in reinforcing our commitment to technology leadership and breakthroughs in innovation and we intend to help transform healthcare delivery in this region and beyond," concluded Andral.

GE Healthcare is set to launch its latest range of diagnostic imaging technologies and will focus on specific modalities within diagnostic imaging including Computed tomography (CT) imaging, Magnetic Resonance (MR), imaging 4D Volume Ultrasound, Digital X-Ray, Mammography Picture Archiving, Communication Systems (PACS) and Performance Solutions, Molecular Imaging and PET/ CT (Positron Emission Tomography/ Computed Tomography).

During the exhibition, GE Healthcare will conduct special workshops facilitated by GE's healthcare professionals and designed to update and raise awareness of the latest technologies in diagnostic imaging. On 23 January GE will hold the 3rd Annual PACS Users Meeting 'Share the experience' with Regional and International guest speakers.

Simultaneoulsy, Ultrasound workshops will be held at Dubai International Exhibition Centre (Hall 4 and 5A) starting with 'Volume Ultrasound in Gynecology' by Dr. Nick Raine-Fenning, University of Nottingham, UK. There will also be a workshop on 'Volume Ultrasound in Obsetrics with special focus on detection of Malformation' by Dr. Bernad Benoit, Princess Grace Hospital, Monaco and a live scanning session by Dr. Benoit.

Arab Health is the annual international hospital, medical equipment and services exhibition and conference. GE Healthcare's products can be seen on the company stand (Hall 4 - Stand 4D20) at the exhibition being held at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.