GE’s Logiq E9 takes high ground with new architecture

The latest development in ultrasound from GE Healthcare, its Logiq E9, promises to tap the modality's true diagnostic potential while exceeding that of ultrasound alone to provide interventional guidance. The ability to merge data from CT and other modalities into a live ultrasound scan distinguishes this new scanner, which began commercial deliveries in September.

E9's Volume Navigation, which continuously updates a volumetric model of a patient constructed from CT or other source with real-time ultrasound data, offers moment-to-moment guidance for interventionalists. But it is the system's architecture and its novel technologies that set the stage for real-time volumetric scanning throughout the body.

Matched with the Agile beamformer that works with the Logiq E9's advanced ESeries transducers, this new architecture delivers unprecedented image quality and uniformity, according to Terri Bresenham, vice president of GE Healthcare's diagnostic ultrasound and IT business.

Increased penetration and sensitivity, made possible in part by a new acoustic amplifier built into the transducers, allow for visualization of structures regardless of their depth in the patient. This is especially important when scanning obese patients, according to Bresenham.

The Agile platform extends high-quality imaging throughout the patient population and body by defining the context of the data to be acquired. Before starting the scan, the user matches a clinical model that establishes the context of the anatomy to be visualized. This model then serves as a guide for algorithms to adjust parameters of the scan to compensate for the interaction between tissues peculiar in those body parts and ultrasound waves.

The Logiq E9 displaces but does not eliminate its predecessor, the Logiq 9, from the GE ultrasound portfolio. An update for the former flagship is planned for late next year.

Buyers are paying between $200,000 and $250,000 for the new flagship, depending on configuration. Increased productivity helps justify the cost. Workflow tools built into the new system streamline routine scans, reducing the time and effort needed to do an exam, according to the company. Packaged into a program called Scan Assistant, these tools minimize the number of keystrokes needed to perform functions.