19 Jul GE Healthcare technology helping to detect Alzheimer’s earlier
Company showcasing tech at conference
WAUKESHA, Wis. – GE Healthcare is showcasing the company’s technologies to help physicians assess Alzheimer’s disease during the Alzheimer’s Association’s 9th Annual International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders in Philadelphia this week.
GE develops non-invasive imaging technologies that enable physicians to identify and diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in their patients, such as positron emission tomography (PET), the combination of PET with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, the company is participating in collaborations and investing in research in order to develop new technologies that will help physicians diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease earlier.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders is the world’s leading forum on dementia research, and includes more than 5,000 researchers sharing groundbreaking information and resources on the etiology, pathology and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it intends to expand Medicare coverage of PET to include some Medicare beneficiaries with suspected Alzheimer’s disease and to assess some patients with early dementia or unexpected memory loss.
With input from independent experts, including the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging, CMS completed a thorough review of the evidence regarding the use of PET for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, Medicare will collaborate with the National Institutes of Health to research the role of PET scans in guiding treatment and predicting the course of Alzheimer’ s disease.
“The recognition by CMS of the significant benefits that PET can provide will allow physicians to make use of a remarkable medical imaging technique that shows the biological changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease before any other diagnostic test is available and in some cases, several years earlier than the onset of symptoms,” said Ed Coleman, vice chair and professor of radiology at Duke University Medical Center.
According to Joseph M. Hogan, president and chief executive officer of GE Healthcare Technologies, GE is in a unique position to help physicians better and earlier diagnose, treat and manage patients with Alzheimer’s disease. “We invest millions of dollars in the research and development of innovative technologies that are helping to improve the quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients and their families,” said Hogan. “It is our hope that one day our technologies and resources will help deliver the ultimate solution – a cure.”
GE Healthcare is a provider of medical imaging, point-of-care systems, health care services and information technology. As one of Wisconsin’s top with more than 6,400 employees, the company currently has facilities in more than a dozen Wisconsin communities, including Brookfield, Madison, Milwaukee, Menomonee Falls, Pewaukee and Waukesha.