GE HealthCare showcases commitment to sustainable innovation at RSNA 2024
- Determined to reach net zero emissions by 2050, GE HealthCare's portfolio features environmentally conscious product design, energy efficiency, and technology circularity while continuing to drive advancements in patient care
As part of a companywide commitment to advance innovation that improves the health of patients and the planet, GE HealthCare (NASDAQ:GEHC) is highlighting several solutions with increased focus on sustainability at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2024 Annual Meeting, which is held Dec. 1-4 in Chicago, IL.
"With a deep appreciation for the importance of sustainability, at GE HealthCare, we are managing our environmental footprint by integrating sustainability into our business while also decreasing operational costs through energy efficiency and waste reduction," said Roland Rott, president and CEO of Imaging, GE HealthCare. "More than one billion patients worldwide are touched by one of our products or care solutions annually – a responsibility we take very seriously as the actions we take now will impact our planet and global population for decades and centuries to come."
Since becoming an independent company, GE HealthCare has continued to strengthen its legacy of improving the quality of life of people around the world. In 2023, the company reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by 13% as part of a strategy validated by the Science Based Targets initiative that seeks to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Additionally, that same year, the company also recovered 7,375 imaging, ultrasound, and surgery machines, leading to more than 15 million pounds of reused and recycled material.
Circulatory and environmentally conscious design
Through initiatives like the Circularity and Environmentally Conscious Design program, GE HealthCare works to extend the lifespan of products to serve customers and patients for as long as possible. For example, in many cases, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner magnets can be kept in place during equipment upgrades, eliminating the need for a new magnet and reducing the environmental impact associated with manufacturing and transportation. When some systems have reached the end of their lifecycle, dedicated teams may be available to manage the recycling and refurbishing to help keep waste out of landfills.
Sustainable innovations in remote scanning and pharmaceutical diagnostics
GE HealthCare also offers technologies that enable remote clinician training and remote patient scanning, such as Digital Expert Access with remote scanning and nCommand Lite by IONIC Health (exclusively distributed by GE HealthCare), which help support sustainability initiatives of hospitals and health systems.
"By leveraging more remote collaboration and scanning options, such as Digital Expert Access and nCommand Lite by IONIC Health, radiology administrators can streamline workflows and increase efficiency," said Rekha Ranganathan, senior vice president, general manager, Imaging Platforms and Digital Solutions, GE HealthCare. "Having an expert technologist who can support the optimization of scan parameters, as well as improve throughput and reduce patient rescans, could also contribute to energy efficiency in healthcare systems."
In the pharmaceutical diagnostics space, the CT motion™ syringeless power injector for iodinated contrast media improves patient throughput and greatly reduces overall plastic waste and contrast waste through optimizing contrast administration. A large academic hospital, University of Wisconsin - Madison, compared CT motion with a typical syringe-based injector and found it reduced their plastic waste by 84.6% (~3 tons) and eliminated their contrast media waste (31.3L) over the course of 16 weeks.i*
Additionally, in October, GE HealthCare announced the completion of its Phase I clinical development program for a first-of-its-kind manganese-based macrocyclic MRI contrast agent. Along with its suitable image-enhancing properties, this manganese-based agent could be a viable option to gadolinium, particularly in light of perceived concerns relating to gadolinium retention and the potential impact of post-patient excreted gadolinium in the environment.
Supporting sustainability across the GE HealthCare portfolio
During RSNA, GE HealthCare is featuring innovations designed with sustainability in mind, including:
- CT motion & MR Max 3™ – syringeless power injectors for the CT and MR radiology suite, compatible with multiple contrast container sizes and/or concentrations. These syringeless injectors enhance workflow efficiency, lower plastic waste consumption, and enable contrast optimization through the efficient use of Imaging Bulk Packaging containers, thus further reducing overall departmental cost by reducing contrast waste.
- SIGNA™ Champion – this system is GE HealthCare's smallest footprint and most power efficient 1.5T wide bore system. Enabling shorter scans times, the system reduces power demands, increases throughput, and enhances the overall patient experience. With its highly scalable platform, SIGNA Champion supports broader affordability, configurability, and upgradability to support services expansion for health systems.
- Vscan Air – this ultrasound system is designed to be refurbished, reused, or recycled at the end of its product life to minimize unnecessary waste. The product is manufactured in GE HealthCare's Zipf, Austria, a facility that uses 100% renewable electricity.
- Revolution™ Apex platform – now boasts Energy Saving Mode 2.0, which transitions the scanner into low power mode during extended periods of non-operation to help reduce power consumption by approximately 80% in unit kW, and can achieve over a 30% reductionii in daily energy consumption (in kWh).
- Revolution™ Ascend platform and Revolution™ Maxima – these CT systems within the Revolution family reduce energy consumption by up to 15% and lower indirect carbon emissions by 68% when using energy savings mode.
- AMX™ Navigateiii– this X-ray system battery charges from 0% to 100% in 4.5 hours and can take up to 350 images over 4.6 hours without being plugged into a power outlet.
- Omni Legend PET/CT – this system, when idle, reduces energy consumption by up to 50% when using the standby power mode. In addition, the replacement X-ray tube for the Revolution Maxima can recycle 47% of the mass of the X-ray tube, enabling savings on energy and natural resources.
Sustainability beyond RSNA
In addition to the products being showcased at RSNA, GE HealthCare is furthering its commitment to sustainability by pioneering new breakthroughs to lead the green anesthesia movement. Gasses commonly used for anesthesia are recognized greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming and can damage the Earth's ozone layer, and according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, one-quarter of a hospital's operating room waste is from anesthesiaiv. GE HealthCare's End-tidal Control** software automatically adjusts and maintains exhaled oxygen and exhaled anesthetic concentrations, with more accuracy in reaching the clinician's target versus manual control. By significantly reducing anesthetic agent usage, End-tidal Control can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and costs, compared to conventional manual control. One study showed a potential 44% decline in the rate of greenhouse emissions when employing End-tidal Control software.v
For more information on GE HealthCare's sustainability initiatives, and these innovative solutions showcased at RSNA, please visit Booth 7330, the company's RSNA press kit or the GE HealthCare sustainability page.
*Results are unique to UW-Madison's analysis and may not be extrapolated or generalized to other settings.
**End-tidal Control in the United States is indicated for patients 18 years of age and older.
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, Advanced Visualization Solutions, 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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i Toia GV, Rose SD, Brown Z, Dovalis D, Bartels CM, Bladorn RM, Schluter KL, Lubner MG, Szczykutowicz TP. Consumable Material Waste and Workflow Efficiency Comparison Between Multi-use Syringeless and Single-use Syringe-Based Injectors in Computed Tomography. Acad Radiol. 2023 Oct;30(10):2340-2349. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2023.05.038. Epub 2023 Jun 26. PMID: 37380534.
ii Energy saving 2.0 according to the COCIR SRI 2015 for CT, which simulate 24 hours of daily use with 20 patients scans and 12 hours in low power mode.
iii AMX Navigate Data Sheet, data on file (https://gehealthcare.box.com/s/s06lwq2w5svpqzzk57vu29qa54vmywzr)
iv https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31920201/
v Tay S, Weinberg L, Peyton P, Story D, Briedis J. Financial and environmental costs of manual versus automated control of end-tidal gas concentrations. Anaesthesia Intensive Care. 2013 Jan;41(1):95-101. doi:10.1177/0310057X1304100116. PMID: 23362897.
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