GE Medical Systems Announces Agreement
To Apply Innovative Pediatric Program to Medical Imaging
Color Coding for Kids to Provide Easy Reference Guidelines for Hospitals and
Help Reduce CT Radiation for Children
CHICAGO - GE Medical Systems, a unit of the General Electric Corporation (GE: NYSE), has signed an agreement that will allow GE to apply the Broselow-Luten Pediatric System, commonly known as Color Coding for Kids, to all of its medical imaging and patient information systems. The results of this agreement could positively impact millions of pediatric patients in the years to come.
GE is the first computed tomography (CT) manufacturer to apply this innovative method to a medical area outside emergency medicine. This agreement follows work at Duke University Medical Center, which was the first to systematically study the system in pediatric radiology.
The Color Coding for Kids system was originally developed to improve the medical care of children in emergency settings, and specifically help standardize and simplify decisions, resulting in greater medical accuracy. Medical professionals assign children to one of eight color zones, based on weight or length. Information for each color zone is easily accessed and indicates size-specific equipment and precalculated therapeutic options such as medication dosage and fluid volumes.
According to Dr. Donald Frush, chief of Pediatric Radiology at Duke University Medical Center, the lead clinical site and center for excellence for the Broselow system, “Color Coding for Kids is a proven way to help medical professionals provide better care to children not only in the emergency department, but in other important and complex areas like CT.”
As one of the first results of this agreement, GE will install Color Coding for Kids and easy reference, preloaded protocols in its new LightSpeed™ Ultra CT scanner. The GE LightSpeed Ultra is the latest proven CT system that scans patients up to three times faster with up to 30 percent less radiation dose.
This announcement comes just weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice to hospitals nationwide emphasizing importance of keeping radiation doses during CT procedures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), especially for children. Nearly 30 million CT exams were performed last year in the U.S., 1.6 million of which were for children.
Specifically in the area of medical imaging, Dr. Frush at Duke has developed diagnostic CT protocols in conjunction with the Color Coding for Kids system. His research with CT exams, like other studies in emergency room settings, revealed the system helps medical professionals provide more expedient, standardized care with greater clinical confidence.
“GE’s commitment to the Color Coding for Kids is a giant step forward to help improve CT exams for children and to help this proven system move into other medical arenas,” said Frush. “We are confident that millions of children worldwide could benefit from the Color Coding for Kids system, as the program is more widely used in all areas of pediatric medicine.”
GE has been a recognized leader in helping medical institutions provide the appropriate amount of radiation dose in medical imaging while trying to get the best possible information to diagnose children. The company’s agreement to use and license the Broselow-Luten Pediatric System was signed with Vital Signs, Inc.
About GE Medical Systems
GE Medical Systems is an $8 billion global leader in medical information and technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, clinical information systems, patient monitoring systems, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography (PET), and nuclear medicine. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Medical Systems for high-quality medical technology, services and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Medical Systems Web site at
gemedical.com
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