WASHINGTON, DC - GE Healthcare announced today the first cardiology-specific installation of its next-generation volume computed tomography (CT) scanner, the LightSpeed VCT. This marks the first installation intended exclusively for cardiac applications by a cardiologist. The installation at Round Rock Cardiology, an independent cardiology practice near Austin, Texas, was announced at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, Florida.

The LightSpeed VCT, the world’s first volume CT system, enables cardiologists to capture images of the heart and coronary arteries in five heartbeats — something no other CT system can offer.

“GE listened to luminary cardiologists and customers who told us that imaging the heart in five or fewer beats was an urgent clinical need,” said Laura King, Global Vice President, Interventional, Cardiology and Surgery at GE Healthcare. “The LightSpeed VCT is the only technology capable of 5-Beat Cardiac, and GE is the only company to build our technology for physicians, based on their clinical needs, from the ground up.”

The LightSpeed VCT also enables physicians to noninvasively capture the image of any organ in one second and perform a whole body trauma scan in less than 10 seconds. In a single rotation, the system creates 64 submillimeter images, totaling 40 millimeter of anatomical coverage, which are combined to form a three-dimensional view of the patient’s anatomy for the physician to analyze.

“The LightSpeed VCT is a culmination of GE’s more than 25 years of experience as the world’s leader in CT,” said King. “Our innovative technologies designed to address the clinical needs of our customers are enhancing physician efficiency and patient care. Simply put, the LightSpeed VCT will help cardiologists treat more patients more effectively.”

LIGHTSPEED VCT: BIGGEST REVOLUTION IN CARDIOLOGY SINCE THE CATHETER, ACCORDING TO CARDIOLOGIST

The LightSpeed VCT has the capability to attain 43-millisecond temporal resolution, which means physicians can effectively freeze the motion of the heart in a scan and secure extremely high-quality images of coronary arteries at submillimeter.

“GE’s LightSpeed VCT is the biggest revolution in cardiology since the catheter,” said Dr. Thomas Vinson, cardiologist and CEO of Round Rock Cardiology. “It will help cardiologists make rapid, accurate diagnoses of heart disease. This technology is the wave of the future, and I’m excited to be the first cardiologist in the world to own this ground breaking technology.”

Pamela Douglas, MD, FACC, and Chief of Cardiology at Duke University Medical Center and President of ACC, said cardiologists already using CT technology have successfully integrated cardiovascular CT into their clinical practice.

"CT Angiography can make all the difference in helping physicians detect disease and provide information needed for accurate diagnoses of heart disease. The LightSpeed VCT is clearly going to be a major breakthrough technology to help cardiologists diagnose heart disease," said Douglas.

GE INSTALLING A LIGHTSPEED VCT EVERY WEEK SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD

To date, GE’s LightSpeed VCT has been installed successfully at Froedtert Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the JFK Medical Center in Edison, NJ; the Centre Cardiologique du Nord (CCN) in Saint-Denis, France; and Keio University Hospital in Tokyo, Japan. The company will continue to install LightSpeed VCTs around the world at the rate of one per week in 2005.

“The speed and accuracy of the LightSpeed VCT has put GE Healthcare at the forefront of diagnostic cardiovascular care, “ said King. “The company’s unique combination of molecular diagnostics and breakthrough imaging technology like the LightSpeed VCT are helping change the diagnostic and treatment paradigm for heart disease.”

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.