Omnyx Digital Pathology Platform Chosen for Educational Seminars in Asia

Market Press Release – November 1, 2011 2:46 am – SINGAPORE – Nov 1, 2011- GE Healthcare announced today that its Omnyx(TM) Integrated Digital Pathology solution will be the virtual microscopy system for one of two educational seminars, the inaugural Hematolymphoid Course at the Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital. Instead of reviewing cases using traditional optical microscopes, over 60 pathologists from throughout Asia and beyond will use GE’s all-digital pathology solution during the Hematolymphoid educational workshop to review 40 cases encompassing more than 500 digital slide images. 

Dr. Tan Soo Yong, Senior Consultant, Department of Pathology Singapore General Hospital and Hematolymphoid course Director, said, “Diagnosis in haematopathology requires examination of immunostained sections. This poses a big challenge for postgraduate medical education as it is difficult to provide sufficient material for all participants. We have been able to save money and greatly expand participation in our Hematolymphoid seminar since digital microscopy eliminates the cost of creating 9,000 physical slides and makes viewing pathology images much more accessible than a microscope could.” 

Omnyx™ VL4 Whole Slide Scanner created the 500 digital slide images used for the conference and participants will use 18 Omnyx™ Pathologist Workstations to organize and review them. 

“We are pleased to partner with Singapore General Hospital as part of our sponsorship of its inaugural Hematolymphoid & 2nd Breast Pathology Course. The benefits of integrated digital pathology extend far beyond education. The Omnyx Integrated Digital Pathology system is designed to increase access to sub-specialist care, greatly increase pathologist productivity, and reduce read-time, particularly in remote locations.” said John Chee, General Manager of GE Healthcare IT, Asia Pacific. 

Omnyx’s breakthrough technology extends beyond slide digitization and includes anenterprise software solution to enable pathology departments to improve access to pathologists regardless of where a patient or specialist is located. This results in improved turnaround times and greater collaboration among specialists. 

“The Omnyx Integrated Digital Pathology solution was designed by pathologists, for pathologists and built from the ground up with help from a global team of collaborators with the overall goal of digitizing the pathologist’s process with intuitive and efficient solutions. We are looking forward to the reaction of pathologists attending the two seminars on the Omnyx Integrated Digital Pathology solution and image quality,” said Rajiv Enand, Sr. Vice President of Business Development, Omnyx. 

Omnyx’s complete product line will include scanners, workstations, algorithms, servers, and digital archives for storage. The Omnyx Integrated Digital Pathology solution is designed to integrate what are often stand-alone products into a comprehensive platform. It combines high speed, high quality whole slide scanning with scalable information technology products to create a solution that addresses the reliability and process requirements of pathologists and enables single and multi-site organizations to benefit from increased efficiencies and greater access to peers in the field. 

By digitizing the slides and corresponding workflow, the Omnyx solution is intended to do what a traditional microscope cannot — unite an entire pathology department and improve collaboration, communication and efficiency. 

About GE 
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

About GE Healthcare 
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to servinghealthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

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About Omnyx
Omnyx, LLC (www.omnyx.com) is a joint venture of GE Healthcare and UPMC (the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) with locations in Pittsburgh, PA and Piscataway, NJ. The company is developing an Integrated Digital Pathology system allowing pathology departments worldwide to move to an all-digital workflow. Their products include image management, workflow automation, image analysis algorithms and system integration along with a family of high speed whole-slide scanners. Close collaboration with pathologists at UPMC and other institutions along with their relationship with GE Healthcare allows Omnyx to focus its innovation on the needs of anatomic pathologists worldwide. Omnyx products are currently in development and are for research use only. They are not for use in diagnostic procedures.