WASHINGTON D.C. -- The Texas Heart® Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, has received the 1,000th Innova® digital flat-panel X-ray cardiovascular system shipped by GE Healthcare.

Introduced in February 2000, Innova systems are used by cardiologists in the cath lab when performing procedures to view and treat potential coronary artery blockages that could cause heart attacks or other serious cardiovascular damage. Texas Heart purchased the Innova 3100 system, used for both cardiac and peripheral vascular studies. The product line also includes the original Innova 2000 for cardiac studies, and the Innova 4100 for cardiac, vascular and peripheral runoff studies.

"The healthcare industry continues its rapid adoption of our all-digital X-ray cardiovascular imaging system," said Laura King, Global Vice President and General Manager of Interventional, Cardiology and Surgery for GE Healthcare. "Clearly, this technology is winning favor with cardiologists."

For 14 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital among the nation's top ten heart centers. St. Luke’s and the Institute have performed more than 100,000 open-heart procedures, more than 200,000 cardiac catheterizations, and more than 25,000 cardiology interventions as alternatives to bypass surgery.

"St Luke's Episcopal Hospital was the first hospital in the Houston area to select flat panel technology from GE. We were one of the first five sites in the world,” said Kristen Turner, Assistant Vice President of Cardiology, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. “From the standpoint of image quality and clinical acceptance, the physician and staff response has been enthusiastic. Over the last four years, we have installed three Innova 2000 flat panel systems. Recently, we have decided to install three additional GE flat panel labs. Two of those labs will be the new Innova 3100 combo labs for peripheral and cardiac studies."

GE Healthcare spent 13 years and 50 million developing the Innova 2000, earning more than 100 U.S. patents in the process. The technology is in use at such prominent institutions as North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.; Wake Forest Baptist Medical center in Winston-Salem, N.C., and The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Innova systems include the GE Revolution™ digital detector, providing the industry's first fully digital imaging capabilities. By converting X-ray signals to digital images at the point of acquisition, the detector captures information with minimal loss over the full range of typical exposures. It also minimizes the artifacts and distortions associated with conventional systems.

The Revolution detector is unique in its ability to deliver the highest Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE), a widely recognized measure of image quality, as well as fast frame rate acquisition and a wide dynamic range. These features enable physicians to acquire exceptional images and to use advanced applications.

Innova systems enable cardiologists to see blood vessels with much greater clarity than on previous technology systems. Revolutionary image quality enables clinicians to view hard-to-see blood vessels and to see devices used during procedures, such as stents, guidewires and catheters. The systems also significantly reduce overall radiation exposure.

MD Byline, an independent healthcare research company, confirmed the growing preference for digital flat-panel detectors. "A review of the MD Buyline database reflects members' rapid acceptance of the digital detector or flat-panel technology in the cath, vascular and cardiovascular arena," wrote MD Buyline clinical analyst Tom Watson. "In the past 12 months, over 55 percent of the proposal sent to MD Buyline have been for digital detector configurations."

About the Texas Heart® Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
The Texas Heart® Institute Heart, chartered in 1962, operates in partnership with St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston. The Institute has achieved many clinical firsts, including the nation's first successful human heart transplant. The Institute is dedicated to reducing cardiovascular disease through innovative and progressive programs in research and education. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital provides compassionate healthcare from its location in the heart of the Texas Medical Center. Founded in 1954 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the hospital delivers primary and tertiary healthcare to patients from throughout the Houston metropolitan area and around the world.

About GE Healthcare:

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that will shape a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare’s expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, disease research, drug discovery and biopharmaceuticals is dedicated to detecting disease earlier and tailoring treatment for individual patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of services to improve productivity in healthcare and enable healthcare providers to better diagnose, treat and manage patients with conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases.

GE Healthcare is a $14 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) that is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 42,500 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.

Contact:
Britt Zarling - 262-544-3453; britt.zarling@ge.com