Allegheny Health Network First to Install SenoClaire, New Breast Imaging with 3D Tomosynthesis Solution

Allegheny, PA, October 1, 2014 — Allegheny Health Network is the first center in the nation to install SenoClaire*, GE Healthcare’s (NYSE: GE) new breast tomosynthesis solution designed with a three-dimensional imaging technology. SenoClaire, which was approved by the FDA earlier this month, uses a low-dose short X-ray sweep around the positioned breast with nine exposures acquired with a “step-and-shoot” method, removing the potential motion from the tube helping to reduce blur and increase image sharpness.

“We are pleased to be working with GE Healthcare to provide women with a precise screening tool to help detect breast cancer,” said William Poller, MD, Director of the Division of Breast Imaging at Allegheny Health Network. “When cancer is identified and treated earlier, we know women have a better rate of survival.”

Allegheny Health Network’s new Health + Wellness Pavilion in Wexford, PA, is the first site in the nation to install SenoClaire. In the coming months, SenoClaire will be installed in additional Allegheny Health Network sites, including Allegheny General Hospital, West Penn Hospital, Forbes Hospital and Allegheny Valley.

“SenoClaire marks a significant step forward in helping our clinicians detect breast cancer,” said David Parda, MD, Chair, Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute. “At Allegheny Health Network, we provide our patients with the most effective ways to battle cancer from every possible angle, with innovative procedures, medicines and technology.”

A key challenge when performing screening mammography is keeping the radiation levels as low as possible. With GE’s SenoClaire, there is no increase in dose from a 2D standard mammogram to a 3D view, which means there is no increased radiation to patients during a SenoClaire breast exam. ­­

In addition to offering more clarity, confidence and low dose, SenoClaire offers a complete solution by helping to improve overall workflow. SenoClaire is compatible with CentricityTM PACS with Universal Viewer and supports the DICOM standard that can be read by capable PACS vendors. When SenoClaire is combined with GE Healthcare’s Centricity PACS and Centricity Clinical Archive solution1, clinicians have access to the patient’s longitudinal record, providing data that helps to enable better patient care.

“SenoClaire builds on our breast care continuum, which offers physicians and patients a comprehensive suite of solutions – from screening and diagnosis through treatment and monitoring,” said Catherine Tabaka, Chief Marketing Officer, GE Healthcare, Detection and Guidance Solutions. “SenoClaire not only offers patients a new solution to help clinicians better detect breast cancer, but does so with low dose radiation and high image quality. This new generation technology, breast tomosynthesis, together with innovative solutions like contrast enhanced spectral mammography, automated whole breast ultrasound, and molecular breast imaging will equip healthcare providers with a comprehensive set of tools that will help their patients across the entire breast care continuum.”

Currently, GE Healthcare has 180 units installed in Europe, Australia, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. GE Healthcare is actively working on SenoClaire installations throughout 2014 and into 2015.

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients.

Tackling Cancer
At GE, we envision a day when cancer is no longer a deadly disease. In September 2011, GE Healthcare launched an ambitious global campaign against cancer, committing $1 billion of its total R&D budget over the next five years to expand its advanced cancer diagnostic and molecular imaging capabilities, as well as its advanced technologies for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals and for cancer research. By the end of 2012, $335M had been invested, setting GE on track to meet its five-year commitment. To accelerate progress, and to help clinicians deliver better care to 10 million patients by 2020, the campaign against cancer combines the strength of GE’s portfolio of cancer technologies with the innovations born from collaborations with key partners. To learn more on how GE is tackling cancer, see: http://www.getacklingcancer.com/.

About Allegheny Health Network
Allegheny Health Network is a western Pennsylvania-based integrated healthcare system that serves patients from across a five state region that includes Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The Network’s Cancer Institute offers a complete spectrum of oncology care, including access to state-of-the-art technologies and new therapies being explored in clinical cancer trials.

The Network’s radiation oncology program is the largest in the country accredited by both the American Society for Radiation Oncology and the American College of Radiology and the first and only one in Pittsburgh to receive both accreditations.

Allegheny Health Network’s Cancer Institute collaborates with the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, one of the nation’s 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, for research, medical education and clinical services.

SOURCE: GE Healthcare

*Trademark of General Electric Company1Centricity Clinical Archive solution includes the following product components: Centricity Enterprise Archive, Universal Viewer ZFP, Caradigm™ eHIE, Centricity Clinical Gateway, NextGate MatchMetrix EMPI, and PACSGEAR PacsSCAN™.

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