GE Medical Systems Installs 300th Positron Emission Tomography System; Leads the industry in PET system market share, clinical applications.

Business Editors, Medical Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2002

GE Medical Systems, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced at the annual conference of the Academy of Molecular Imaging that it has installed its 300th positron emission tomography (PET) system. This milestone includes 100 PET/Computed Tomography (CT) systems. PET currently is a strategic platform for molecular imaging research.

The 300th system, a fixed GE Advance NXi PET system, was installed last month by US Oncology, a leading provider of cancer-care services to the oncology community, at Northwest Regional Cancer Treatment Center in Niles, Ill., near Chicago.

"Physicians from around the world recognize that GE Medical Systems' technology is a critical component to patient care," said Steve Bolze, General Manager, Global Functional & Molecular Imaging, GE Medical Systems. "From the moment we introduced the Discovery LS, physicians reported a significant improvement in their ability to detect and localize suspicious lesions. That translates to diagnostic confidence and better patient care."

Worldwide installations of both the GE Advance NXi and the GE Discovery LS, the world's first commercially available PET/CT system, have contributed to GE Medical's growth in this area. According to figures recently reported by the National Electronic Manufacturers Association, GE Medical Systems currently has 82% share of the U.S. market for PET/CT systems and 56% share of the U.S. market for PET and PET/CT systems combined.

PET is a powerful diagnostic tool that shows patients' tissue metabolism to determine and locate disease, if present. This metabolic imaging may change the course of patient management through detecting the presence and extent of disease. PET contributes to accurate noninvasive diagnosis, excellent patient management and cost maintenance.

"GE's PET medical-imaging technology has given our oncologists a powerful tool for functional imaging of cancer and to help guide the course of patient care by avoiding ineffective treatments," said Bill Pegler, Vice President, Cancer Center Technologies, US Oncology. "GE's systems provide state-of-the-art technology that integrates seamlessly with RADMAP, our priority platform for the integration of clinical and management technologies throughout our network."

About US Oncology, Inc.

US Oncology, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is America's premier cancer-care services company. The company provides comprehensive services to a network of affiliated practices - comprised of more than 850 affiliated physicians in over 450 sites, including 77 outpatient cancer centers - in 28 states with the mission of expanding access to and improving the quality of cancer care in local communities and advancing the delivery of care. These practices care for 15 percent of the country's new cancer cases each year.

About GE Medical Systems

GE Medical Systems is an $8 billion global leader in medical imaging, interventional procedures, healthcare services, and information technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, clinical information systems, patient monitoring systems, surgery and vascular imaging, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography, electron beam tomography, magnetic resonance, ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography, nuclear medicine, and a comprehensive portfolio of clinical and business services. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Medical Systems for high quality medical technology and productivity solutions. For more information about GE Medical Systems, visit our Web site at www.gemedical.com.