GE Healthcare Launches China's First AI-Powered Mammography System to Enhance Breast Cancer Screening in Primary Care
GE Healthcare
Digital Solution Provider
The Paper reporter Li Xiaoxiao
October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” each year, aiming to remind women to pay attention to and prioritize the prevention and control of breast cancer. Early detection, early intervention, and early treatment are key principles in breast cancer prevention and control; therefore, improving the accuracy of breast cancer screening is a critical issue in this field.
Since 2006, GE Healthcare has annually launched the “Pink October” public welfare campaign. This year, at the 83rd China Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF), which opened on October 19, GE Healthcare China introduced a digital intelligent mammography system—the first AI-enabled mammography machine in China—expected to enhance the efficiency and capacity of breast cancer screening at the primary care level.
The 2019 Cancer Report released by the National Cancer Center shows that breast cancer ranks first in the incidence of female tumors, with an incidence rate three times that of cervical cancer, and approximately 304,000 new cases annually. With the advancement of breast cancer treatment technologies, early detection and early treatment provide opportunities for curing breast cancer. Therefore, early screening for breast cancer has received significant attention.
In first-tier cities, breast cancer screening has been implemented for many years. For instance, since 2008, Beijing has offered free cervical and breast cancer screening to eligible women. Female residents of Beijing aged 35 to 64 are entitled to one government-subsidized free breast cancer screening every three years.
For rural women, the National Health Commission has launched screening programs for cervical cancer and breast cancer (hereinafter referred to as the “two cancers”), with the goal of achieving screening coverage rates of over 80% by 2022 and over 90% by 2030 among eligible rural women.
Insufficient screening capabilities and methods among primary care physicians represent a current dilemma in breast cancer screening; GE Healthcare’s newly launched mammography system is designed to address this challenge.
“Breast cancer screening primarily takes place at primary care hospitals, while large tertiary Grade A hospitals focus on the diagnosis and treatment of complex and difficult cases. However, physicians at primary care hospitals are often hesitant to interpret mammograms due to poor image contrast, which makes it difficult to detect small calcifications and nodules,” said Wang Chunbo, Director of Women’s Health and DXR Products at GE Healthcare China. He introduced that the newly launched mammography system can perform examinations for approximately 140 patients per day, covering nearly 600 imaging positions, and deliver ultra-fast, high-definition diagnostic images in just three seconds. This significantly improves diagnostic efficiency at primary care hospitals and enhances their capacity for screening breast and cervical cancers.
Notably, this mammography system delivers rapid, high-definition diagnosis for various manifestations of early-stage breast cancer, such as calcifications and architectural distortion, significantly enhancing the efficiency and diagnostic capabilities of primary care hospitals.
The Paper has learned that AI-enabled mammography systems, designed for primary care hospitals, have already been deployed for clinical use at multiple medical institutions, including the Wuyuan County Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Jiangxi Province, Guilin Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Fuling Central Hospital in Chongqing. Regarding pricing, GE Healthcare did not disclose specific figures but stated, “The price will definitely be affordable for primary care institutions, as we aim to benefit a broader population.”
Zhang Yihao, President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Healthcare China, stated that in response to the needs of normalized epidemic prevention and control as well as the diagnosis and treatment of critical illnesses in China, GE Healthcare is accelerating the implementation of its three major strategies: comprehensive localization, digital empowerment, and win-win collaboration. By providing more precise, safe, and high-quality technological and clinical solutions, the company aims to contribute innovative expertise to the advancement of new healthcare infrastructure and the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment under the context of normalized epidemic prevention and control.