TORONTO, ONTARIO--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 29, 2009 -- GE Healthcare’s (NYSE:GE - News) Vascular Ultrasound group and The Medipattern Corporation (CDNX:MKI.V - News) are pleased to announce their plan to collaborate in the creation of Ultrasound-based Vascular Imaging Quantification Tools (Vascular iQ(TM)). GE Healthcare and Medipattern confirmed their plans to collaborate by signing a definitive collaboration agreement. Medipattern will leverage technology developed in its Cadenza(TM) algorithm platform and extend it with additional functionality to create Vascular iQ. Medipattern will create a generalized version of the vascular product while building an exclusive version for GE Healthcare ultrasound systems, which will be available to the market through GE’s well-established distribution to clinicians around the world.
“GE Healthcare’s Vascular Ultrasound team is committed to developing new technology to image and analyze vascular disease, increasing diagnostic confidence, and speeding patient treatment,” said Michael Arbaugh, GE Healthcare General Manager of GE Healthcare’s Vascular Ultrasound division. “Our investment in dedicated vascular expertise, support of vascular education, and unique vascular technologies are evidence of this commitment. GE is actively developing new ultrasound products to capture distinctive diagnostic images.”
“Medipattern is GE’s partner in breast ultrasound, providing its innovative CAD to support early detection of breast cancer,” Arbaugh said. “Medipattern has proven to be a valued partner and we have invited them to join us in our goal to raise analytical understanding of vascular disease. We believe that Medipattern’s technology will be very beneficial to improving the outlook for those patients with vascular disease. At GE, vascular imaging goes beyond the acquisition of the images and continues through analysis and reporting to improve clinicians’ workflow, with the result being a reduction in time to identify disease and speed treatment to the millions of patients at risk every year.”
According to Frost and Sullivan’s 2004 U.S. Ultrasound Report, the cardiovascular ultrasound market represented 35 percent of the total ultrasound market in the U.S. This compares to the 2 percent share for breast ultrasound in the same year. The vascular ultrasound market is also forecasted at a steady growth rate of 11 percent per year.
“Entering the vascular ultrasound sector will greatly broaden the market opportunities for Medipattern’s software. Our technology platform, Cadenza, has already been proven across imaging modalities with our products in breast ultrasound and breast MRI CAD. Now we plan to go across disease centers by leveraging from breast disease to vascular disease,” said Jeff Collins, CEO of The Medipattern Corporation. “Working with GE to deliver Vascular Imaging Quantification Tools through GE’s sales channel builds upon the relationship that we have developed for our breast CAD product. Medipattern is pleased to strengthen and extend our association with GE as we enter the vascular CAD market together,” Collins concluded.
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 - News). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 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.
About The Medipattern Corporation
Medipattern® is a leading provider of medical software solutions specifically designed to streamline imaging workflow and increase productivity. Our company’s comprehensive solutions provide radiologists, surgeons, sonographers and other medical specialists’ time-saving tools that enhance consistent communication throughout the enterprise. Medipattern’s flagship B-CAD® solution helps characterize, evaluate, and document breast ultrasound images in a thorough, organized process for easy use in daily practice. Please visit the company’s website at: www.medipattern.com.
Upcoming Events: - IAME, February 6-8, 2009 in Atlanta, GA - AIUM, April 2-5, 2009 in NYC, NY - BIC, May 25-28, 2009 in Anaheim, CA - SDMS, October 15-18, 2009 in Nashville, TN - RSNA, November 29-December 3, 2009 in Chicago IL
Cadenza(TM) is a trademark of the Medipattern Corporation. B-CAD® and Medipattern® are registered marks of The Medipattern Corporation.
Forward-looking statements
This document contains forward-looking statements relating to Medipattern’s performance, operations, or business environment. These statements are based on what we believe are reasonable assumptions given currently available information and our understanding of Medipattern’s current activities. We have tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “potential”, and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict or control. A number of factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to those set forth in the Company’s corporate filings, (posted at www.sedar.com). In addition, these forward-looking statements relate to the date on which they are made. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements.
