GE Healthcare Enhances Workflow in Echo Lab, OR and Cath Lab with Vivid E9 Cardiovascular Ultrasound, Now Including 4D TEE Transducer

Wauwatosa, WISCONSIN — April 25, 2012 — GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), today announced the FDA clearance and availability of the latest version of its Vivid E9™ cardiovascular ultrasound system. The Vivid E9 Breakthrough 2012 (BT12) includes a 4D transducer for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and also provides innovative tools designed to help improve workflow efficiency through simplified image acquisition, intuitive navigation and advanced, yet easy to use quantification.

While Vivid E9 is currently used most frequently in the echo lab, the availability of the 4D TEE transducer enables the system to be used more often in settings including the cath lab, and the operating room. The TEE transducer will allow clinicians to view precise images of the heart during assessment/diagnosis performed in the echo lab, and to support invasive surgical procedures in the operating room, as well as image-guided procedures in the cath lab. With the TEE transducer, Vivid E9 can now be leveraged for procedures including mitral valve repair, transcatheter aortic valve repair (TAVR/TAVI), atrial septal defect (ASD) closures and patent foraman ovale (PFO) closures.

source: GE Healthcare