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Paoli-Calmettes Institute Collaborates with IBM to Help Cancer Patients Better Understand Treatment Risks

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MARSEILLE, France and DUBLIN, Ireland - 12 Jul 2012: The Paoli-Calmettes Institute (IPC), France and IBM Research (NYSE: IBM) - Ireland announced today they are collaborating on a study that will demonstrate the effects of how oncologists, integrating visual information into their consultations, assist in communicating the diagnostic and treatment risks to cancer patients.

Researchers at Paoli-Calmettes Institute, pictured here, are working with IBM to study how to use visuals in their communications to help cancer patients better understand information regarding cancer screening, prevention, and treatment risks. (Photo courtesy IPC, France)

Communicating cancer risk information is a growing area of oncology and the process is achallenging one for both healthcare professionals and patients. Patients may have difficulties understanding complex risk calculations and probabilities for cancer treatments and diagnosis. Clinicians may find it difficult to translate risk statistics to individual patients and use only verbal communications to explain complex information. 

“There are many challenges to communicating medical risks for individualized cancer treatments. It requires specialist knowledge and understanding in order to inform patients about cancer risk, to change risk related behaviors, or to reassure people with excessive risk related anxieties”, says Professor François Eisinger, IPC. "This research study aims to significantly deepen our clinical knowledge and practice about risk communications, while helping patients to better understand their diagnosis and treatments." 

The objective of the collaboration is to find novel ways for clinicians to effectively present medical risk information to help cancer patients make their own informed decisions on the benefits of screening, prevention, or on their treatment management options. 

IBM researchers will create and review multi-dimensional risk information templates and provide these to clinicians who will use the templates as a visual aid to communicate with patients the implications of their cancer diagnosis and treatment options. The medical aspects of the project will be led by a team of researchers at Paoli-Calmettes Institute’s Regional Cancer Center in Marseille. 

Initial focus of the research study will cover the communication of risk information to prostate cancer patients at both pre- and post-screening stages, as the number and complexity of risk factors (age, health status, screening results, side effects of treatments) makes it especially challenging for clinicians to effectively communicate with patients on the risks and rationale of the recommended treatments. 

Scientists will review data from the patient-clinician interactions to extract insights into what visual communication features are most effective at accurately portraying the risks and the benefits to patients. The data will be anonymized to protect patient confidentiality and meet government standards. 

The design of the visual communication templates aims to deliver the information gathered from medical and statistical content such as inherited, biological and environmental risk factors and lifestyle habits that may influence the development of cancer in patients. 

“This research demonstrates how risk analytics and visual communications can aid medical staff to communicate effectively in order to support cancer patients to make more informed decisions about screening strategies or treatment programs,” say Dr. Léa Deleris, Manager of Risk Analytics group at IBM Research - Ireland. 

With the study results, researchers are hoping to develop useful tools that will support in the communication of cancer patients’ risk profile, ultimately helping to foster compliance with cancer prevention and screening protocols. For health professionals the study aims to support the intercommunication of medical data to the general public more clearly and objectively, while developing new models of cancer care. 

About Paoli-Calmettes Institute

The Institute is located in Marseille and is the regional center providing global care for cancer. It is a member of UNICANCER, the national federation of cancer centers. Offering treatments for adults, the Paoli-Calmettes Institute has built a strong nation-wide and world-wide reputation on the treatment of cancers. The Paoli-Calmettes Institute is one of the rare private facilities that has been licensed by the HAS for the last four years (the overall health authority) (V2010); this is its third certification. IPC's specificity relies on the wide range of activities embodied on its site: prevention, research, training, treatment and rehabilitation. Over 250 researchers work in close collaboration with the medical teams to offer the cutting edge scientific advancements and the highest level treatments against cancers. 

About IBM Research

For more information, visit http://www.research.ibm.com.

GE Healthcare and Virtua to Host Radiology Technology Exposition at Virtua Health Education Center

Press release:

09 July 2012

GE Healthcare and Virtua to Host Radiology Technology Exposition at Virtua Health Education Center

 

• Tech expo and facility tour to showcase diagnostic imaging solutions, women’s health technologies
• Speaker sessions to discuss innovative technologies and emerging trends for hospital leaders

Voorhees, New Jersey – July 9, 2012 – GE Healthcare today joined Virtua, a New Jersey-based healthcare system, in jointly announcing a technology exposition and facility tour to be held at Virtua’s Barry D. Brown Health Education Center and its new hospital in Voorhees, New Jersey this week Thursday, July 12. Open to New Jersey and Philadelphia-area health care professionals and the media, the technology expo will showcase some of the most advanced diagnostic imaging solutions in clinical use today – including women’s health, Computed Tomography (CT) and other innovative health care technologies. Keynote speakers at the technology expo will also address trending developments and best practices for hospital leaders in today’s challenging health care landscape.

“In today’s dynamic healthcare environment, it is essential that industry leaders collaborate closely with clinicians and hospital leadership to innovate and deliver solutions that address the most pressing needs in patient care,” said GE Healthcare’s Marcelo Mosci, president and CEO, US and Canada Region. “GE Healthcare is pleased to join Virtua, already a leader in diagnostic imaging, to provide further educational opportunities and highlight the latest advances in radiology through this special event.”

The exposition will highlight the latest technologies for meeting clinical diagnostic needs, from high-resolution mammograms and low dose CT exams and advanced ultrasound solutions.

“Virtua is pleased to host this event as we share both clinical and product expertise with fellow health care professionals to help promote excellence in diagnostic imaging and optimized patient care,” said Rich Miller, Virtua President and CEO.

Facility tours and speaker sessions for hospital leaders will also discuss equipment management and integration, reimbursement information, clinical workflow, and two increasingly top-of-mind discussions in the health care environment: U.S. health care reform, and low radiation dose, high performance CT imaging.

Specifically showcased at Virtua will be GE Healthcare technologies that help physicians lower patient CT radiation dose, including: ASiR*^ image reconstruction technology, available across the GE Healthcare CT portfolio and used on over 1,200 systems for more than 12 million patient exams to date; and Veo*^, a leading image reconstruction technology now in use at Virtua that has already enabled doctors elsewhere to achieve profoundly clear chest CT images in some cases with less than 1 millisievert (mSv) of dose. For perspective, traditional chest CT scans can expose patients to anywhere from 5-10 mSv of radiation dose, and natural background radiation exposes the average American to around 3 mSv per year. †

As part of its leadership in providing high quality care, Virtua plans to open a new Ambulatory Diagnostic Imaging Center at its Health and Wellness Center in Voorhees featuring the latest technologies in radiology for optimizing patient care. The Center is scheduled for opening in December 2012. The Pediatric Imaging portion of the center will be done in partnership with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

* Trademark of General Electric Company

^ In clinical practice, the use of ASiR or Veo may reduce CT patient dose depending on the clinical task, patient size, anatomical location and clinical practice. A consultation with a radiologist and a physicist should be made to determine the appropriate dose to obtain diagnostic image quality for the particular clinical task.

† Statistics from RadiologyInfo.org.


ABOUT VIRTUA
Virtua is a comprehensive healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, NJ. Its mission is to deliver a world-class experience through its wide range of services delivered through primary care and specialty physician practices, health and wellness centers, hospitals, home care, outpatient and rehab services. Virtua provides advanced prevention, wellness and treatment in the areas of women’s health, pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, orthopedics and neuroscience. Virtua is chosen by more people than any other healthcare provider in South Jersey. Virtua’s maternal/child programs at Virtua Voorhees and Virtua Memorial in Mt. Holly deliver more than 8,000 babies a year. Virtua also treats more people in its emergency departments than any other hospital in the region. A non-profit organization, Virtua employs over eight thousand clinical and administrative personnel, and approximately 1,800 physicians serve as medical staff members.

Virtua has distinguished itself as one of the first Six Sigma organizations in healthcare, as an early adopter of clinical and digital technologies, and for its innovative partnerships with nationally renowned organizations such as GE Healthcare, Fox Chase Cancer Center and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). It has been honored twice with the New Jersey Governor's award for Clinical Excellence and recognized with the Leadership Award for Outstanding Achievement by Voluntary Hospitals of America. Virtua has been honored as the #1 Best Employer in the Delaware Valley for six consecutive years by the Philadelphia Business Journal and is the recipient of the Consumer Choice Awards by National Research Corporation. For more information, visit our website at www.virtua.org or call 1-888-VIRTUA-3 (1-888-847-8823).

ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.For our latest news, please visithttp://newsroom.gehealthcare.com.