Singapore – April 14, 2011 – Asia HealthPartners (AHP) and GE Healthcare have strengthened their strategic partnership with the order of Veo, the most advanced dose reducing technology option in GE Healthcare’s computed tomography (CT) portfolio.

AHP is the first medical center in the world to order Veo with the Discovery™ CT750 HD, GE Healthcare’s high-definition CT technology. Veo is able to improve image resolution by up to 50 percent and reduce noise while using as little as one-eighth of the normal dose as compared to a standard CT image. This move seals AHP’s designation as a global luminary demonstration site for showcasing the latest in GE Healthcare’s CT equipment.

“AHP has long been a partner of GE Healthcare in setting the industry benchmark for high-resolution CT and low-dose images,” commented David Utama, President and CEO, GE Healthcare ASEAN.

AHP and GE’s relationship started in 2006 with the acquisition of the GE Signa® HDxt, the first high definition MRI scanner in Asia Pacific. This was followed by the acquisition of the GE LightSpeed™ VCT XT, the first low dose CT heart scan in the world, in 2007. Early this year, AHP became the first in Singapore to acquire the GE Discovery™ CT750 HD.

Veo is the world’s first model-based iterative reconstruction product that delivers high resolution images, improved low contrast detectability and artifact suppression at low doses.

Radiologists benefit from the clearer, better-defined images, enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis.

Clearer images at reduced radiation

The lowering of patient radiation dose is a concern for healthcare providers worldwide. The Veo installation is part of AHP’s overall commitment to enhance patient care by setting the industry benchmark for high-resolution CT and low dose management.

“One of the key clinical benefits that the latest CT imaging technologies bring is the capability to conduct scans at a lower dose without compromising image quality,” said Dr Djeng Shih Kien, Founder and Chairman of Asia HealthPartners. “This capability significantly minimizes the radiation dose for patients in both cardiac and full-body scans.”

“The Veo installation has helped to address radiation dose management concerns,” said Dr Gan Yu Unn, Consultant Radiologist at Asia HealthPartners. “For example, we now regularly perform abdominal CT scans at the same radiation dose as a single abdominal X ray.”

Redefining image quality in CT reconstruction

Physicians across the globe have long benefited from the performance of the Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction (ASiR™) for CT scans. Introduced by GE Healthcare with the launch of the Discovery™ CT750 HD, ASiR™ offers fast reconstructions for low-dose imaging without compromise — an ideal approach for routine, robust CT imaging cases.

Veo represents the next step in GE’s commitment to low dose CT scanning, its modeling techniques pushing the possibilities even further with added capabilities for the most challenging medical imaging cases at a consistently lower dose.

In traditional CT reconstruction approaches, higher spatial resolution is typically accompanied by higher image noise. Veo’s CT reconstruction platform challenges this trade-off by improving resolution while reducing noise.

“Technological advances in medical imaging over the past few years have had a dramatic impact on CT radiation dose reduction,” added Dr Gan. “Doctors always want the lowest dose possible for their patients, but it used to be that higher radiation doses were required to achieve better diagnostic images. With Veo, I now have a reliable, low dose CT imaging platform that allows me to not only see more but also to see in more details.”

About Asia HealthPartners

Asia HealthPartners (AHP) Private Limited is a modern medical centre based in Singapore. Its Wellness Centre offers general health screening as well as specialist gastric, liver and cardiac health services. The Aesthetic Centre offers both plastic surgery and aesthetic laser treatment. Other facilities include a day surgery with five recovery beds and a fully equipped endoscopy suite. The Diagnostic Centre offers a full range of imaging services with the latest imaging equipment. AHP aims to achieve the best possible healthcare solution for our patients by leveraging on expert medical expertise and state-of-the-art technology. Our mission is to enrich the quality of our patients’ lives through preventative, diagnostic, therapeutic and aesthetic medical services, and using the latest cutting-edge medical technology to serve patients better. To find out more about AHP, visit our website at www.asiahealthpartners.com

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

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