August 24, 2003
Prominent Researchers Find GE Healthcare PET/CT Imaging Improves Diagnostic Accuracy2003 PET/CT European Association of Nuclear Medicine Abstracts Validate GE Discovery Systems AMSTERDAM, Netherlands and BUC, France - Prominent clinicians at the world's leading healthcare institutions report that GE Healthcare' Discovery positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) systems significantly improve diagnostic accuracy, with numerous abstracts at the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine validating that fact. The Discovery family of scanners combines advanced PET technology with sophisticated CT technology - all in a single exam. PET creates images of metabolic activity in the body; CT creates images of the body's anatomy. Paired together, PET/CT scans allow physicians to more accurately pinpoint where disease is located, resulting in better therapy selection. Many of the abstracts presented at the meeting demonstrate that patient management is being changed in a significant number of cases because of the improved diagnostic accuracy of a GE PET/CT system. Most of the research work was done with the GE Discovery LS, the world's first commercially introduced PET/CT system. Some research work was done with the latest GE PET/CT system, the Discovery ST, a fully integrated PET/CT system that is capable of 2D and 3D imaging with a larger bore for all patient studies or sizes. The ST in Discovery ST stands for "See and Treat," meaning that the system helps physicians to see disease and plan suitable therapy or treatment. "We selected the Discovery ST for its high sensitivity and for its ability to provide better image quality which, combined with the CT information, give higher confidence in image interpretation," said Prof. Jean-Jacques Lejeune, Chief of the Nuclear Medicine Department, University of Angers - France. GE Healthcare is leading the industry with more than 130 Discovery PET/CT systems installed worldwide, including 20 Discovery ST systems. In Europe, four Discovery ST systems have already been installed, with the first one in San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. "The Discovery ST opens new frontiers in Oncology. It will not only provide a fast and definite assessment of the tumor spread in the body, but interacting with radiation oncology equipment will allow to selectively irradiate only metabolically active cancer cells" said Prof. Ferruccio Fazio, Chief of the Nuclear Medicine Department at San Raffaele Hospital. "GE Discovery PET/CT systems and their advanced applications give physicians more diagnostic confidence, enabling them to accurately target disease and appropriately prescribe therapy," said Mike Minogue, General Manager of Global PET, GE Healthcare. "More clinicians are switching from PET-only systems to GE PET/CT systems because they are diagnostic tools that help them provide better patient care." |