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GE medical imaging technology to aid early diagnosis of all athletes at Beijing 2008 Olympics

07/13/2008

GE Healthcare, the US$17 billion healthcare business of General Electric Company (GE), is working with medical leaders in the Olympic Movement to advance the use of innovative medical imaging technologies to provide insight into athlete health, as well as benefits for the general public. The company will supply a broad array of medical technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound and electrocardiogram (ECG) to the Olympic Village General Hospital. In addition, three National Olympic Committees, including China, the US and Spain, and two Sports Federations will use GE Healthcare’s compact ultrasound technology.

In line with GE Healthcare’s ‘Early Health‘ vision and its commitment to sports medicine, these technologies will assess the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health of Olympic athletes before, during and after the Beijing Games.

“At GE Healthcare, when it comes to health and sport, we believe in saying ‘the sooner the better,’” said Joe Hogan, GE Healthcare president and CEO. “Athletes push their bodies to the limit everyday, which deserves and requires vigilant health monitoring. The simplicity and speed offered by our innovative medical imaging technology helps clinicians acquire an accurate diagnosis when it’s most crucial, early on. This helps answer the question of whether an athlete can stay in competition and could mean the difference between winning the gold and an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.’”

GE Healthcare will equip the Olympic Village General Hospital, which will offer comprehensive healthcare for all Olympic athletes and officials, with 308 MAC 1200 ECGs for use at Olympic venue sites. Additionally, the hospital will be equipped with the only five ultrasound systems and two MRI systems available at the Beijing Games.

Throughout Beijing, most of the 24 official Olympic Games hospitals will be equipped with GE technology providing additional medical support during the Games to accommodate an influx of more than one million visitors and journalists to the city’s 15.2 million inhabitants.

GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to staging a successful Olympic Games. GE works closely with host countries, cities and organizing committees to provide infrastructure solutions for Olympic venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security, and to supply hospitals with ultrasound and MRI equipment to help doctors treat athletes. In addition, NBC Universal, a division of GE, is the exclusive U.S. media partner of the Olympic Games, with its partnership also extending through 2012. For more information, visit www.ge.com/olympicgames.