Description and Overview
The GE Discovery™ LS is breakthrough technology designed to help physicians diagnose and localize cancer faster than ever before.
Discovery LS is the first imaging technology to combine today’s most sophisticated computed tomography (CT)1 and positron emission tomography (PET)2 systems, producing images that provide anatomic and metabolic information at one time.
Relevance to Cancer
The GE Discovery LS can help physicians answer the critical questions for cancer patients in one exam:
Does a patient have cancer? Is a lesion benign or malignant?
Where is the cancer? Is it spreading?
How large is the cancer?
What is optimal therapy?
Is the therapy working?
Is there a reoccurrence of cancer?
Summary of Patient Benefits
The potential of diagnostic confidence for patients suspected to have cancer, and those who already have the disease.
Potential reduction of invasive procedures such as biopsies and unnecessary surgeries.
Reduction in exam time. For example, patient results can be obtained in less than one hour rather than one day with previous, separate technologies.
Greater peace of mind for patients and their families, knowing that this technology provides comprehensive information. This technology also eliminates a “wait and see” approach, commonly used to monitor the patient during post-treatment, and sometimes even used during the actual therapy and treatment phase.
Increased patient comfort due to the shorter exam time and as a result less time spent on the table.
Clinical Demand
The GE Discovery LS provides fused system images, which translates into more complete information for medical professionals. Specifically, this technology is helping meet the needs and demands of the medical community including radiologists, nuclear medicine professionals, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists and other referring physicians in the following ways:
Accurate location of lesions, identification of benign versus malignant lesions, and differentiation from scar tissue.
Excellent sensitivity and specificity, resulting in clinical confidence and the reduction of false positives and false negatives.
Information to help physicians stage cancer.
Information to aid in surgical and radiation treatment planning.
The ability to monitor the effectiveness of treatment and adjust the plan during, rather than at the end of, treatment.
Clinical Sites
Zurich University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Rambam Medical Center Haifa, Israel
Development
GE has invested more than $50 million in the development of this technology, plus another $80 million for the research and development of the LightSpeed CT and Advance NXi
systems, upon which Discovery LS is based. The company also employed its Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) quality processes in the design and creation of these advancements.
GE first began its work in fused system images with the development the GE Millennium VG Hawkeye™. Since its introduction last year, it is installed in more than 75 medical institutions worldwide.
Integrated Technologies
To create the Discovery LS, GE applied its fused system imaging experience from Hawkeye, and creatively integrated the technologies of the GE LightSpeed™ CT Plus scanner with the GE Advance™ NXi PET system.
GE LightSpeed CT Plus (for anatomical images) is based on the first multi-slice CT technology introduced to the health care community. The LightSpeed is widely used and embraced worldwide for its ability to produce the highest quality multiple images of patient anatomy six times faster than conventional single-slice CT systems.
GE Advance NXi PET (for functional images) is accepted worldwide as the premium oncology scanner, providing superior image quality of metabolic activity in the shortest possible time. The Advance NXi is used for routine 2D and 3D clinical studies, yet powerful and flexible enough for research applications.
Medical Experts Gustav K. von Schulthess, Ph.D., M.D.
Director, Division of Nuclear Medicine
Zurich University Hospital
Visiting Professor, Stanford University
Richard L. Wahl, M.D.
Director, Division of Nuclear Medicine
Vice Chair, Technology and New Business Development
Department of Radiology
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Homer A. Macapinlac, M.D.
Associate Professor of Radiology
Director and Section Chief of Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Ralph E. Coleman, M.D.
Vice Chair and Professor
Department of Radiology
Director, Division of Nuclear Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Ora Israel, M.D.
Director, Department of Nuclear Medicine
Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine
Israel Institute of Technology, Technion, Israel.
GE and GE Medical Systems Jeffrey R. Immelt
President & Chairman-Elect
General Electric
Joseph M. Hogan
President and CEO
GE Medical Systems
Beth Klein
Vice President and Global General Manager
Functional and Molecular Imaging
GE Medical Systems
GE Medical Systems is an $8 billion global leader in medical information and technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, healthcare information systems, patient monitoring systems, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound, positron emission tomography (PET), and nuclear medicine.
1 CT technology provides anatomic information about where a lesion is located. 2 PET technology provides information about the body’s metabolism and changes in cellular function.
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