- Bringing together leading global healthcare innovator and
European healthcare institutions, this relationship aims to advance
Theranostics in clinical practice and the development of new
tracers and technologies for more personalized medicine
- Theranostics is a transformative approach to cancer treatment,
giving hope to patients and their loved ones and the potential for
an improved quality of life
- The practice of Theranostics is supported by advanced imaging
devices as well as digital and artificial intelligence (AI)
solutions
With the aim of increasing access to precision care, GE
HealthCare is proud to collaborate with University Medicine Essen
(UME) in the establishment of a new Theranostics Center of
Excellence. The Center will be outfitted with the latest
technologies and solutions to support the clinical practice and
advanced research of more personalized approaches to cancer care in
Germany and around the world.
Cancerous diseases continue to threaten the lives of patients,
with over 10 million new cancer cases diagnosed annually.i
Fortunately, the advancement of precision diagnostics solutions and
regulatory approval of new treatment options enables the growing
practice of precision care – namely Theranostics – giving hope to
patients and their loved ones and the potential for an improved
quality of life.
"Theranostics has revolutionized the way we approach patient
care by combining targeted therapy with precise diagnostic tools,
offering a personalized treatment strategy,” shares Ken Herrmann,
MD, director and chair, scientific advisory board at the Clinic for
Nuclear Medicine, University Medicine Essen. “This growing practice
allows us to deliver treatments that are tailored to each patient's
specific condition. However, the true potential of Theranostics can
only be fully realized with continuous research and development. As
we advance precision medicine, it is crucial that we collaborate
with industry leaders – like GE HealthCare – and invest in
innovation to refine and expand personalized medicine, helping
ensure even better outcomes for patients in the future."
Theranostics represents a growing medical practice, leveraging
diagnostic tools to precisely diagnose and monitor disease for the
targeted delivery of therapy to patients. These therapeutic and
diagnostic technologies work together to provide a personalized,
highly precise, patient-centric approach to medical diagnosis and
treatment.
GE HealthCare and University Medicine Essen are proud to be at
the forefront of this quickly developing practice, moving away from
traditional one-size-fits-all cancer treatments toward connected,
patient-centric, and highly personalized care. Together, the two
institutions aim to:
- Expand production of and access to radioisotopes for precise
disease diagnoses and monitoring;
- Outfit facilities with innovative technologies and solutions
capable of improved image quality, dose calculation, care
coordination, and operations for more personalized treatment
recommendations and an improved patient experience; and
- Support research activities with the aim of advancing precision
care now and in the future, beginning with collaboration on GE
HealthCare’s total body PET/CT technology.
Enabling precision health: Tracer production The practice of
Theranostics begins with the production and development of
radioisotopes for use in diagnostic tracers, which are administered
to the patient, attach to specific cancer cells, and release
radioactive emissions to provide detailed molecular information
unique to each patient.
To enable this work, GE HealthCare will outfit University
Medicine Essen’s new tracer development center with a full suite of
radio pharmacy solutions – including cyclotron, synthesizer, and
lab technologies – which will support the production and supply of
radioactive materials for patients. These solutions work together
to create a steady, more cost-effective supply of diagnostic
tracers, helping ensure clinicians get the quick, accurate,
personalized data necessary to diagnose, stage, and monitor each
patient’s unique disease state.
Staging and quantifying disease: Theranostics Center of
Excellence To read the emissions released by these tracers, the
patient must be imaged using highly sensitive imaging systems.
These technologies provide the clinician detailed information that
is used to better understand the structure and function of each
patient’s tissue and disease state to help form personalized
therapy recommendations:
- Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and Magnetic
Resonance (PET/CT and PET/MR): reveal the metabolic or biochemical
function of tissues and organs using a radioactive drug (tracer) to
detect both typical and atypical metabolic activity before the
disease would typically show up on other imaging tests;
- Single Photon Emission/Computed Tomography (SPECT/CT): use a
radioactive substance (tracer) and a special camera to create 3D
pictures showing how well the organs are working; and
- Digital and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions: leverage
advancements in digital, machine learning and AI to help improve
diagnosis quality and enhance radiology and clinical
workflows.
“Building a therapeutics program requires access to highly
sophisticated equipment,” adds Dr. Herrmann. “Visualization of
disease and treatment efficacy is made possible by molecular
imaging techniques – such as PET and SPECT – and enhanced by
digital and AI solutions, which work together to aid our clinicians
in staging disease as well as provide ongoing assessments and
characterizations of disease over time. The more advanced the
imaging solution, the more information we have to better care for
our patients. We are thrilled to leverage GE HealthCare’s
impressive suite of solutions and work with them on their next
generation long axial field of view PET/CT technology that has the
potential to further enhance our ability to practice precision
care.”ii
To support these efforts, GE HealthCare is delivering a new Omni
Legend 32cm PET/CT, SIGNA PET/MR, and several SPECT/CT systems,
including StarGuide, NM/CT 870 DR, and NM 830. These systems’
capabilities are further enhanced by deep learning and AI solutions
– including auto positioning, Precision DL, Clarify DLiii – and
digital technologies from MIM Software’s impressive suite of
imaging analytics and digital workflow solutions – a recent
addition to GE HealthCare’s leading global medical technology,
pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital portfolio.
Altogether, University Medicine Essen’s new Theranostics Center
of Excellence will drive innovation in clinical collaboration,
research, and education throughout the region, equipping healthcare
practitioners with the tools and knowledge necessary to offer more
personalized treatments to patients.
Preparing for the future of personalized medicine
Researchers at University Medicine Essen are also collaborating
with GE HealthCare to further expand the potential of PET/CT, which
is used broadly for disease diagnosis, staging, therapeutic
planning, and treatment response assessment – especially
cancer.
"Access to comprehensive imaging is crucial in healthcare,
significantly impacting decision-making and patient outcomes,"
shares Jean-Luc Procaccini, President & CEO, Molecular Imaging
and Computed Tomography, GE HealthCare. "That’s why we are thrilled
to collaborate with University Medicine Essen to explore the
potential of a new, innovative long axial field of view PET/CT
technology. Designed for exceptionally high image quality at
ultra-low doses, this technology aims to enable the investigation
of new clinical pathways in oncology, combining cutting-edge
research with the demands of a busy daily routine. Sensitivity is
essential for the next generation of tracers and use of dual
tracers, which can offer higher diagnostic confidence and better
operational efficiency."
To support this advanced research, encourage new discoveries,
and meet growing clinical demands, GE HealthCare is designing its
long axial field of view PET/CT technology to deliver record high
sensitivity for ultra-low dose scans; fast acquisitions; multi
organ dynamic imaging; and impressive imaging of slow decaying, low
activity tracers. In parallel, this technology aims to improve
healthcare system efficiency by enhancing clinical workflows,
supporting routine clinical practice, and improving operational
efficiency with deep learning-based technologies.
“Looking at all our current and future needs, we believe the
unique technology direction that GE HealthCare has chosen for their
total body PET/CT will help us fulfill our ambition,” shares
Wolfgang Fendler, MD, Vice Chair at the Clinic for Nuclear
Medicine, University Medicine Essen. “We are excited to collaborate
once again with GE HealthCare and other leading global health
institutions and be one of the first to adopt this technology.”
University Medicine Essen previously collaborated with GE
HealthCare to validate AI models designed to predict patient
response to immunotherapies. Based on a cohort of over 4,000 UME
patients, the collaboration confirmed the AI models’ ability to
predict efficacy outcomes and the likelihood of an individual
patient developing an immune-related adverse event (in this case,
hepatitis) with 70 to 80 percent accuracy.iv These findings could
further enable precision care by unlocking the potential for
clinicians to select the appropriate personalized treatment pathway
sooner while potentially sparing unnecessary side effects and
cost.
GE HealthCare is at the forefront of driving a connected
healthcare transformation and revolutionizing cancer care. Its
integrated portfolio of solutions provides clinicians with the
isotopes, imaging, informatics, and molecular imaging agents
necessary for the practice and advancement of precision care.
By connecting clinicians along every step of the oncology care
pathway with innovations and strategic collaborations, this
collaboration aims to empower researchers and clinicians and enable
better outcomes for cancer patients around the globe.
For more information on GE HealthCare’s impressive Molecular
Imaging portfolio, visit GEHealthCare.com.
About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. GE HealthCare is a
leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and
digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated
solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more
efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and
patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for
more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized,
connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s
journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound,
Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses
help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to
monitoring. We are a $19.6 billion business with approximately
51,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no
limits.
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information.
_________________________________________ i Cancer. World Health
Organization. Published February 3, 2022.
https://www.who.int./news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer. Accessed
March 2, 2023. ii Long axial field of view PET/CT represents
ongoing research and development efforts. Not for sale. Not
CE-marked and not cleared or approved by the U.S. FDA, or any other
national regulatory authority for commercial availability. iii
Clarify DL is CE marked as part of StarGuide and Xeleris V, and
510(k) pending at the US FDA. Not available for sale in the United
States. iv Poster “Evaluation of Machine Learning Models to Predict
Efficacy and Toxicity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Using an
External Real-World Pan-Cancer Cohort” presented at SITC 38th
Annual meeting
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241016209683/en/
GE HealthCare Media Contact: Margaret Steinhafel Director
of Communications Molecular Imaging & Computed Tomography
+1 608 381 8829 margaret.steinhafel@gehealthcare.com
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