URMC–GE HealthCare Launch Academic Care Alliance to Strengthen Research & Clinical Innovation

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

The newly formed Care Alliance spans seven years and comes as an expansion of a longstanding relationship between URMC and GE HealthCare. With the Care Alliance in place, the organizations will work to implement efficiencies across the system that can help to decrease burdens on IT, biomed, and clinicians; while standardizing equipment throughout the health system to help ensure patients receive exceptional care when and where they receive it. 

“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, Chair of Imaging Sciences. 

“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.”  

Imaging Sciences Center of Excellence 
The Care Alliance supports URMC’s Imaging Sciences center of excellence strategy through significant additions across advanced diagnostic imaging solutions. As part of the system-wide technology deployment, the program includes in-place upgrades to existing MRI systems and the delivery of new MRI systems with on-device AI applications that reduce imaging noise resulting in clearer images while reducing time on the scanner. 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, minimizing the need for new construction, reducing downtime, and supporting a higher level of environmental responsibility.

“Technology is changing rapidly and the Care Alliance with GE HealthCare will provide their latest, next-generation systems for advanced care,” Harvey said.