LightSpeed^® VCT Fact Sheet

LIGHTSPEED^® VCT – VOLUME COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Description and Overview

The LightSpeed VCT, the world’s first Volume CT system, is the latest innovation in computed-tomography (CT) technology and the flagship system in GE’s LightSpeed family of CT scanners. “VCT” stands for "Volume Computed Tomography." LightSpeed VCT ushers in the next generation of CT imaging by offering game-changing clinical applications in neurology, cardiology and trauma.

The LightSpeed VCT can capture images of a beating heart in five heartbeats
or an organ in a second, and can perform whole body trauma in ten seconds, more than twice as fast as conventional multi-slice CT scanners. And it does so without sacrificing clarity – its sub-millimeter resolution offers spectacular views of veins and arteries.
For physicians volume coverage means new diagnostic power, including the ability
to routinely perform CT angiography, rapid tests for ER stroke and chest pain, and
whole body trauma.

LightSpeed VCT Featured Procedures

· 5-Beat Cardiac^™ - The ability to provide a comprehensive view of the heart
and coronary arteries with sub-millimeter resolution in just 5 heartbeats. The LightSpeed VCT’s broad coverage and speed helps reduce the artifacts caused by beat-to-beat variability - resulting in more robust, repeatable procedures, greater vessel visualization and shorter breath holds for sick or elderly patients.

· Triple RuleOut^™ - The ability to help clinicians rule out (or in) three
of the most life-threatening critical conditions associated with chest pain in one single scan - aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and coronary artery disease.

· Stroke WorkUp - Once a stroke occurs, it is commonly believed that treatment must be delivered within an hour or less to ensure the best outcome for the patient. The LightSpeed VCT offers the speed and resolution required for rapid examination of blood vessels in the brain (perfusion studies). This enables physicians to make a quick diagnosis and determine the best course of treatment while reducing the number of exams a patient may need to undergo.

Other Typical LightSpeed VCT Procedures

· CT colonography

· Cardiac and coronary vessel analysis (5-Beat Cardiac^™)

· Coronary artery calcification scoring

· Angiography studies

· Trauma/emergency room/chest pain management (Triple RuleOut^™)

· Stroke workup

· Oncology/cancer care

· Pulmonary emboli

· Inner ear ailments

· Spinal injuries

· Abdominal injuries

· Pediatric assessment

· Kidney exams

· Liver exams

· Lung exams

Patient Benefits

· Diagnostic option for the workup of a cardiac patient

· Faster patient exams – capture images of a beating heart in five heartbeats,
a single organ in one second, and perform whole body trauma in ten seconds

· Less time needed for breath holds, which can mean less stress for the patient

· Automated dose reduction features

· Easier access/wheelchair access to patient table – lower table height

· Breathing lights help coach patients through breath holds – making
it an easier exam

Physician Benefits

· Full suite of applications to assist in examination of the head, abdomen,
spine and chest

· Xtream^™ FX workflow platform allows the physician to review the
case within five to ten minutes

· The technologist performs the exam, allowing the physician to interact with patient during the exam

· Provide referring physicians with customized patient reports

· Automatic reformatting of images to the clinical views needed to help
the physician make the diagnosis

· Scans as fast as 0.35 seconds per rotation. Variable speed capability
as well. Higher-speed scanning translates to clearer, sharper images
with fewer artifacts caused by patient movement or the motion of
a beating heart

CT Technologists Benefits

· Highly automated operation – designed for single-technologist operation. The imaging process is so automated that the operator only needs to choose from a list of scan protocols, plan the scan, and push start. The system reconstructs,
films, networks and archives automatically

· Automated dose reduction features and pediatric protocols

· Patient table designed to handle patients up to 500 lbs

· Productivity and ergonomic enhancements – features that save
technologists time and steps:

§ Remote gantry tilt (from inside the control room)

§ In-room start (from inside the exam room)

§ Front and back gantry controls

§ Patient breathing lights with countdown timer

§ IV pole and instrument tray that move with the patient table

Key Technology/Key Components

· V-Res^™ detector in the LightSpeed VCT is what makes Volume CT imaging possible. A unique backlit detector with a true 64-channel design. Based on GE’s patented HiLight^™ scintillator material, this detector increases high resolution volume coverage by a factor of four when compared with a 16-slice detector – delivering high-resolution, isotropic (microVoxel™) imaging at its finest.

· Performix^® Pro X-ray tube meets the unprecedented demands on
X-ray sources with industry leading image quality, peak power and total throughput. Backed by a powerful generator, Performix Pro delivers the highest peak mA capability in the market today – up to 800 mA. Image small structures and see greater critical detail in CTA runoffs, aortic dissections and other challenging exams – on even the largest patients.

· Volara^™ is GE’s new digital DAS (Data Acquisition System) that delivers high processing power for high quality images and low dose performance.

· Xtream^™ FX is LightSpeed VCT’s workflow solution. Xtream FX enables healthcare practices to keep pace with the large volume of data by delivering accelerated reconstruction speed, image quality and flexibility to provide an optimized volumetric workflow solution from acquisition to final report. The speed of image reconstruction allows physicians to take advantage of volume acquisition and seamlessly handle large datasets without sacrificing productivity time. In addition, Xtream FX offers new review “effects,” such as direct MPR (multi-planar reformatting) that directly displays images in 3D views without
the wait for post-processing reconstruction.

Relevant Statistics

· An estimated 120 million CT scans are performed annually
around the world, including nearly 60 million in the United States

· More hospitals choose GE LightSpeed^® multi-slice scanners than
all competitive brands combined

· For the approximately 5 million individuals who present in the
Emergency Department with chest pain each year, only a fraction
are actually having a heart attack

· There were 5.8 million cases where people visited the Emergency Department with chest pain and related symptoms in 2003 – The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – Emergency Department Summary –
National Centre for Health Statistics

· Approximately 1.2 million people will suffer from a new or recurrent
attack of Coronary Artery Disease – American Heart Association 2005

§ Approximately 865,000 of these are Myocardial Infarctions–
American Heart Association

· According to the American Heart Association:

§ Since 1900, cardiovascular disease has been the number one
killer in the United States every year but in 1918. Nearly
2,600 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day,
an average of 1 death every 34 seconds.

§ In 2002, an estimated 6,813,000 inpatient cardiovascular
operations and procedures were performed in the U.S.;
4.0 million were performed on males and 2.8 million
were performed on females

§ From 1979 - 2002, the number of cardiac catheterizations
increased 389 percent

§ An estimated 1,463,000 inpatient cardiac catheterizations
were performed in 2002; Average length of a patient’s
hospital stay is 3.6 days

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are shaping
a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare’s expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring and life support systems, disease research, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians detect disease earlier and tailor personalized treatments for their patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of products and services that are improving productivity in healthcare and enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 43,000 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.

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