CHALFONT ST GILES, UK - GE Healthcare announced the availability of the new DeCyder(tm) 2-D version 6.5, a Windows(tm) XP-based applications software that offers automatic 2-D DIGE gel analysis with statistical confidence, reducing hands on time and improving throughput. Designed for use on a personal computer, DeCyder v6.5 enables highly accurate spot matching and ratio measurements, minimizing gel-to-gel variation.

"DeCyder 2-D is one of the most powerful software on the market for the analysis of 2-D DIGE gels," says Kumar Bala, Global Marketing Manager. "Proteomics researchers using DeCyder Differential Analysis Software will benefit from the increased throughput, high accuracy of spot measurements, robust statistical analysis capabilities, and minimal hands-on time enabled by this sophisticated computational tool."

This enhanced version of DeCyder software is suitable for a broad range of experimental complexity and sets a new standard for excellence in 2-D image analysis for gel-based proteomics research.

GE Healthcare specifically designed the DeCyder software package as a critical element of the Ettan(tm) 2-D DIGE technology platform. It detects and accurately matches multiplexed fluorescent images produced from Ettan DIGE gels, selecting protein spots for picking and mass spec identification. DeCyder v6.5 offers several key advantages:
· Automated image analysis which significantly reduces hands-on-time.
· Eliminates spot matching within gels, thereby avoiding matching errors.
· Use of an internal standard which increases accuracy and of measurements and simplifies gel-to-gel matching.
· Automatic Oracle(tm) client and server installation, leading to easy project handling and increased data security.
· Optional DeCyder Extended data Analysis (EDA) module offers multivariate statistical analysis for easier and faster biomarker discovery.

Capable of matching up to 500 image pairs, DeCyder software obtains ratio measurements from a single gel and then matches gels, comparing ratio measurements. This strategy minimizes match editing and errors and simplifies spot matching between gels.

Network licenses offer enhanced flexibility and allow for a client server configuration from one to an unlimited number of users. A single Oracle database license is valid for one server and simultaneous use by up to four clients. E-Licensing simplifies the access and installation of the software.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare's expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring and life support systems, disease research, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians detect disease earlier and to tailor personalized treatments for patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of products and services that are improving productivity in healthcare and enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 43,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.