GE HealthCare and University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) announced a Care Alliance to build advanced capabilities in URMC’s upstate New York footprint. These include a center of excellence in its Imaging Sciences department, addition of diagnostic tracer production for molecular imaging applications, and standardization of patient monitoring across the UR Medicine health system.

An expansion of a longstanding relationship between URMC and GE HealthCare, the Care Alliance will span seven years. The duo aims to implement efficiencies across the system that can help to decrease burdens on IT, biomed, and clinicians—while standardizing equipment throughout the health system.

“Advancing our mission to provide the highest quality patient care, this Care Alliance with GE HealthCare brings advanced imaging and monitoring systems across the Finger Lakes region. We are improving access and efficiency to ensure our patients receive the best care close to home,” said Jennifer Harvey, MD, URMC’s chair of Imaging Sciences.

Imaging Sciences Center of Excellence

The Care Alliance will add advanced diagnostic imaging solutions to URMC’s Imaging Sciences center of excellence. The program includes in-place upgrades to existing MRI systems and delivery of new MRI systems with on-device artificial intelligence (AI) applications that reduce imaging noise.

The Continuum+ package allows for ongoing software upgrades as technology becomes available for ongoing, high-level care across the UR Medicine fleet of equipment. The institution will also install one of the first Aurora SPECT/CTs in the U.S., a dual-energy CT capable of single heartbeat cardiac scans, and the addition of LOGIQ E10 ultrasound portfolio. The agreement is structured so technologies can be upgraded in place as new innovations and applications become available.

Radiopharmaceutical and theranostics program

URMC is working to obtain an on-site cyclotron for patient care and innovative research. Adding one can help to power precision medicine and theranostics efforts by enabling in-house production of the short-lived radioisotopes essential for advanced imaging techniques, such as PET scans.

Diagnostic tracers can attach to specific disease cells and release radioactive emissions that provide detailed molecular information unique to each patient. It helps individualized treatment planning, care, and monitoring when imaged with solutions in URMC’s stable like the Omni Legend PET/CT platform or Aurora SPECT/CT platform.

Patient monitoring standardization

The Care Alliance will see the full standardization of patient monitoring at URMC across bedside monitors, telemetry, central monitoring, and networking and connectivity solutions. This includes solutions from across the Carescape monitoring portfolio, namely Carescape ONE patient monitors powered by the Carescape Canvas monitoring platform.

Adding the Carescape platform aims to help URMC address administrative burdens with simplified workflows and save clinicians time with a flexible, intuitive user experience. It can be configured to support caregivers in their goal to reduce alarm fatigue.

Carescape Canvas and Carescape ONE additionally bring backward and forward compatibility to the patient monitoring suite, which allows healthcare providers to adopt new technology while staying compatible with existing technology in their fleet.

“URMC’s commitment to continuous improvement and access to advanced technology has facilitated a meaningful collaboration that we believe will have a positive impact on patient care,” said Shane Penzone, market vice president at GE HealthCare. “We are excited to work with URMC to enable the future of healthcare through our Care Alliance, combining advancements in AI technology, precision care, innovative care pathways, data, and insights to deliver efficient care in the communities where their patients live.”