GE will use this year's RSNA show as a launching pad for what it's calling high-definition MR (HDMR). Details of the system were sketchy as of press time, but GE claims the scanner will offer "unprecedented" image clarity for diagnosing difficult cases.
GE has been developing HDMR over the past year and a half, according to the Waukesha, WI, vendor. The company says the difference in image quality between HDMR and conventional MRI is analogous to the difference between conventional TV and HDTV.
HDMR is built on the Excite platform of electronics and data-processing enhancements. GE believes the technology will result in higher resolution and an improved ability to visualize moving objects.
GE is betting that HDMR will be particularly useful in patient populations that are difficult to image due to movement, such as children and Parkinson's disease patients with uncontrollable tremors. HDMR will be available on 3-tesla and 1.5-tesla GE scanners.
GE will also highlight some of the investments it has been making over the past year in cardiac MR, primarily in making the technique easier to conduct. Cardiac MR exams can now be performed in under 30 minutes, half the time as was possible two to three years ago, according to the company.
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 15, 2004
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