GE and BIOTIC partner to produce MRI software

HALIFAX – A new collaboration between GE Healthcare Canada and BIOTIC will initiate a Halifax-based research and development and technology commercialization program with the aim of bringing software technology advances to medical imaging.

The collaboration draws on the recent acquisition of GE Healthcare’s 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology at the QEII Health Sciences Centre (QEII), and BIOTIC’s expertise in medical imaging based technology development, to explore the application of advanced software solutions to better diagnose and treat diseases of the brain, liver and prostate.

The goal of this collaboration is to validate and commercialize software-powered medical imaging technology for eventual world-wide use as added solutions and features to GE Healthcare’s MRI systems. Each product is being developed as a “pushbutton” – improving efficiency, consistency and accuracy of the MRI results – potentially improving care for patients in Nova Scotia and around the world.

“GE Healthcare is keen to invest in collaborations that draw on the best capabilities from Canada’s leading healthcare providers and research organizations to help commercialize products with the potential to advance our understanding and treatment of disease,” noted Heather Chalmers (pictured), general manager for GE Healthcare Canada. “This collaboration with BIOTIC will draw on the considerable expertise in Nova Scotia to improve patient care for the Province and potentially the world.”

As part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s research and innovation portfolio, BIOTIC and GE Healthcare Canada’s program was announced by Dr. Patrick McGrath, vice president of research and innovation for NSHA and the IWK Health Centre.

“This is an important collaboration for Nova Scotia’s life sciences sector. We are partnering and working with industry to develop new technologies, which will result in economic benefit to our province and improve care for patients,” said Dr. McGrath. “GE Healthcare is at the pinnacle of the medical research game, they could work with anyone in the world but they chose BIOTIC. This collaboration represents a significant opportunity for us.”

The products being developed include technology focused on providing automated software solutions in the areas of: pre-surgical functional brain mapping, liver disease and prostate cancer.

“BIOTIC has a diverse team of scientists, clinicians and technicians. After receiving a high-field MRI from a QEII Foundation donor, we knew we had the infrastructure, capability and drive to get the attention of a multinational company,” said Dr. Steven Beyea, scientific lead for BIOTIC. “Working with the GE Healthcare team in Canada has been great; they are innovative, forward-thinking and we expect to make some dramatic improvements to patient care through our collaboration.”

The collaboration is underway, with a timeline to design, develop, test and commercialize the products over the next five years.

GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients.

BIOTIC
As part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, the Biomedical Translational Imaging Centre (BIOTIC), is a shared research, imaging lab in the QEII Health Sciences Centre and the IWK Health Centre, located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. BIOTIC has an explicit mandate to translate medical science innovations through to commercial partnership and success. BIOTIC uses clinical and preclinical imaging tools to produce next-generation healthcare advances, through R&D and commercialization of medical technology in all areas of life sciences.