MUNICH, Germany -- General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), today announced that it has developed a new, miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound so small and lightweight it will transform the way doctors see and treat heart disease.

The new Vivid i is a miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound system, the result of integrating more than 20 years of expertise in ultrasound and cutting-edge computing technologies, as well as new patented technology developed by GE researchers.

According to Omar Ishrak, president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Ultrasound unit, this new system will establish a completely new standard of efficiency for physicians. “The mobility of Vivid i will enable physicians to deliver care to the patient wherever it’s needed. The freedom laptops and PDAs have brought to business will now be available to healthcare.”

Visual Stethoscope of the Future
Vivid i will enhance the efficiency and reach of physicians by offering the functionality and high performance of full-featured, larger-scale systems – but in a portable and wireless design that weighs 30 times less. The system makes it possible for patients to receive diagnostic exams anywhere, including bedside, as opposed being transported to an imaging lab in a hospital.

Vivid i’s portability also makes it ideal for urgent care areas, including the operating room, critical care, and for mobile imaging services and outpatient clinics.

In addition, Vivid i features wireless capabilities, enabling physicians to transfer files instantly from the system to other physicians for consultation. As a result, physicians will be able to more quickly diagnose and treat patients and help ensure their patients are more informed and involved in their healthcare decisions.

According to Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare Technologies, the increasing miniaturization of ultrasound technology allows physicians to treat patients in the most effective, least invasive manner possible.

“Vivid i addresses one of the biggest challenges physicians face in caring for their patients – access to complete, real-time information,” said Hogan. “As GE Healthcare continues to improve on the portability and convenience of ultrasound technology, I believe it will become the visual stethoscope of the future.”

Vivid i: Breakthrough Technology
GE’s engineers developed Vivid i by miniaturizing the components of a premium echocardiography system weighing more than 400 pounds (180 kilograms), to provide a portable system weighing only 10 pounds (less than five kilograms).

Within GE Healthcare, Vivid i is considered an “Imagination Breakthrough” product — a major new invention with significant clinical and productivity value for clinicians and patients. Vivid i leverages GE’s research and development investment in the areas of software-based ultrasound platforms and hardware miniaturization in a new, patented design.

“This innovative product, which represents a major milestone in healthcare, is the result of GE’s commitment to developing new technologies and our significant investment in R&D,” Hogan said. “Vivid i is a remarkable example of how GE is pioneering technologies that will change the way healthcare is delivered to patients.”

Professor George Sutherland, Department of Cardiology, St. George’s Hospital in London, England said, “Echocardiography is about to undergo a major change. With its ease of movement and diagnostic image quality, this portable ultrasound system makes it easier for the doctor to go to the patient to perform an ultrasound scan, rather than the reverse. In intensive care and cardiac exam rooms this is a marked advantage.”

GE received 510k clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Vivid i in early 2004. The system will be commercially available in fall 2004.

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:
Shannon Troughton
414-687-3732
Shannon.Troughton@med.ge.com

Britt Zarling
262-751-7050
Britt.Zarling@med.ge.com