Building on the same relationship that successfully integrated GE Healthcare's CardioLab IT Recording System and Biosense Webster's Carto® Mapping System, GE Healthcare is expanding its strategic alliance with Biosense Webster, Inc. to develop real-time ultrasound imaging for use in electrophysiology procedures. The announcement came at the recent opening of the annual Heart Rhythm Society meeting, in San Francisco.

Electrophysiology focuses on treating abnormal heart rhythms that, according to the American Heart Association, account for 20% of heart disease deaths. Ablation, in which an electrophysiologist eliminates the tissues of the heart contributing to a disturbance, has a high success rate (84 to 87 percent)but, because of the complexity and length of the procedure, it is performed somewhat infrequently.

Mark Langer, General Manager of GE Healthcare Interventional Cardiovascular Ultrasound business, believes better visualization technologies can change that.

"This new step in our alliance is a natural extension of our long-standing technology partnership with Biosense Webster," said Langer. "In this new development, we are integrating GE's capabilities in high performance ultrasound imaging with the leading EP catheter technologies from Biosense Webster. Together, we will create new imaging solutions for intracardiac therapies, augmenting current technologies with new real-time visualization of the cardiac anatomy and therapy catheters."

In the field of ultrasound imaging, GE Healthcare is recognized for developing many innovations including 4D imaging and an extensive offering of quantitative tools for cardiac assessment. GE Healthcare's Vivid(tm) series of cardiac ultrasound systems covers a wide range of clinical needs and applications from console to laptop portable systems. A comprehensive selection of transducer probes facilitates multiple applications in both cardiac and vascular imaging.

For more information about GE Healthcare,
visitat www.gehealthcare.com.

More Industry Headlines