GE Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant
November 20, 2009 by letchells
Filed under Business Buzz
GE Healthcare sister company GE Global Research has been awarded a two-year $1.2 million grant under the U.S. government’s stimulus program from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grant was awarded to develop a low-cost transducer for portable ultrasound systems that will produce high-quality images for monitoring pregnancy, according to the Niskayuna, New York-based research branch. The goal of the project is to increase access to prenatal care by simplifying the use and reducing the cost of ultrasound systems.
Besides developing the technology, GE will partner with maternal and fetal medicine physicians at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, UT, to evaluate the equipment and education of young physicians in both hospital and rural health settings.
Expanding the use of ultrasound in under-served communities is expected to improve the detection and diagnosis of such life-threatening conditions as ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, fetal malposition, and pre-eclampsia, said the firm. www.auntminnie.com