GE Healthcare Marks Ten Years Of Vivid Innovation

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 10 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The acquisition of Vingmed Corp., Norway, in 1998 launched an unthinkable journey for GE Healthcare. At this year's meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, in Toronto, GE Healthcare is commemorating the first ten years of that journey and celebrating the promise of the many tomorrows ahead. "To sit back and think about the achievements and strides we've made over the past ten years is remarkable," said business General Manager Anders Wold, who joined GE from Vingmed. "Perhaps even more remarkable, however, is to think of those achievements as prologue to the endless possibilities ahead."

1999
GE introduced System FiVe, the first cardiovascular ultrasound system under the GE label. System FiVe offered the then-breakthrough features of quantitative contrast imaging and DICOM connectivity.

2000
Vivid is born. The Vivid 3 is released as one of the first PC software and hardware based ultrasound systems and the Vivid FiVe added tissue tracking to the already growing family.

2001
The Vivid 7, along with information management solution EchoPAC PC, made their debut. Vivid 7 took its post as GE's high-end PC-based ultrasound scanner that would serve as the foundation for many future breakthroughs in the years to come.

2002
GE introduced strain imaging on its Vivid 7 as well as new vascular and shared service applications. Vivid 3 gained a new transducer (the3S) and EchoPAC connectivity.

2003
Based on input from industry leaders, GE introduced TSI (Tissue Synchronization Imaging) on the Vivid 7. This served to help clinicians manage their heart failure patient cases. Vivid 4 debuted with its 18 transducers opening the door to a previously unthinkable array of shared service applications.

2004
In 2004, Vivid 7 picked up the Dimension moniker based on its new real-time 4D and multi-dimensional imaging capabilities. Vivid entered the compact ultrasound market with the introduction of the Vivid i. GE's first compact cardiovascular ultrasound system brought the performance of 400-pound console systems into a lightweight, compact design, making it easier for clinicians to perform diagnostic exams outside the echo lab or even outside of the hospital. In addition, the contrast agent Optison joined the GE portfolio as a result of the 2004 acquisition of the Amersham, a global leader in medical diagnostics and life sciences.

2005
Breakthroughs on the Vivid 7 included the introduction of Automated IMT (intima-media thickness) measurements and 9-slice imaging. Also in 2005, structured findings came to EchoPAC and Image Vault, GE's dedicated cardiovascular ultrasound server and storage solution, came onto the scene.

2006
With the introduction of Vivid e, GE expanded the reach of echo by bringing compact ultrasound into the physician's office. 4D real time color flow and AFI (Automated Function Imaging) came to Vivid 7 and 4D LV volume measurement became available on EchoPAC.

2007
For the first time since 2004, GE introduced a new concept and performance level for its cardiovascular ultrasound consoles. By leveraging the miniaturization expertise gained from the compact Vivid i, the performance expertise of the console Vivid 7 and the proven utility and versatility of the Vivid 4, GE broadened its portfolio with a new "signature class" of ultrasound. The Vivid S6 and S5 signature class cardiovascular ultrasound systems hit the market, delivering strong performance, excellent image quality and innovative design. Ultra-Definition Imaging arrived as an all-new feature on the Vivid 7, combining image acquisition and processing technology, allowing for optimal images with one-button control.

What's next?
GE Healthcare is rapidly closing in on two significant milestones; the 10,000th Vivid 7 system and the 5,000th compact Vivid system will be sold this year.

"The future of ultrasound is incredibly promising," said Wold. "We believe the products we have brought to market truly open the door to early health. If we can help doctors find disease in its earliest stages, when treatment is not only a possibility but a reality, there's no end to the possibilities within reach. With that in mind, we look forward to the next decade and beyond for our Vivid family of products."

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.

GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.

GE Healthcare