GE Healthcare signs sales and development agreement with Medipattern

GE Healthcare has announced that its radiology and vascular ultrasound segment has assigned a five-year sales and development partnership agreement with Medipattern for Computer-Aided Detection (CAD).

This agreement is prepared in two parts – the first section enables GE Healthcare to resell Medipattern’s existing B-CAD product line, while the second will see the companies collaborate to develop and customise CAD for future systems from GE Healthcare.

Medipattern will produce a sophisticated form of its breast ultrasound CAD exclusively for GE Healthcare which will be integrated with its existing ultrasound solutions sold through the company’s worldwide sales channels.

Brian McEathron, general manager for radiology and vascular ultrasound at GE Healthcare, said: “GE Healthcare is facilitating the next era in medical imaging by developing advanced tools for volume ultrasound imaging.

“Both the quality and number of images are increasing and moving from 2D to a more advanced 3D imaging that will enable the physician to see even greater detail capable of revealing disease at an earlier stage.”

Mr McEathron noted that there is an increasing patient population requiring such scans while the number of practicing radiologists worldwide is currently in decline, factors putting pressure on medical imaging resources.

He contends that use of CAD can streamline the process of medical imaging through the efficient extraction, organisation and documenting of relevant information.

In October 2006, GE Healthcare was ranked top of 13 performance categories for OB ultrasound service and radiology by the IMV 2006 Service Trak survey.