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GE HEALTHCARE TAKES THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP POSITION

Technology Innovation and Customer Reach
Secure Top Ranking for GE

June 20, 2004

WAUKESHA, Wis. -- General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) is the world’s leading provider of ultrasound technology according to a recent industry report from Klein Biomedical Consultants, Inc., a globally-recognized source of ultrasound market and trends analysis.

This marks GE’s ninth consecutive year of double-digit growth in ultrasound, and the second consecutive year that GE has held the industry’s top ranking. While the overall worldwide ultrasound equipment market grew 6% in 2003 according to Klein Biomedical, GE achieved significantly higher growth rates than other major providers.

According to GE, the Company achieved 18% growth in ultrasound equipment sales. The year also marked a milestone for GE with ultrasound equipment and service revenues surpassing $1 billion for the first time in the Company’s history.

“Our consistent performance is fueled by innovative technologies that offer new clinical value, and by our increasing ability to reach hospitals and clinics in every corner of the world,” said Omar Ishrak, president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Ultrasound business. “Today, GE’s ultrasound systems are helping doctors to more clearly visualize and assess a wide-range of clinical conditions such as heart disease and breast cancer. “

GE designs its ultrasound systems to address the clinical and productivity needs of general and specialty healthcare providers contributing to the overall 5.5% procedure growth in the U.S. in 2003. The broad GE ultrasound portfolio is used worldwide to perform approximately 30 million patient exams annually.

GE’s flagship ultrasound systems for general imaging, OB/GYN and cardiovascular applications respectively include:

LOGIQ 9, a general imaging system that sets the standard for image quality, ergonomics and the utility of raw data including Voice Activated Scanning;

Voluson 730 EXPERT, the latest generation of real-time 4D ultrasound, enabling better visualization and assessment of fetal measurements indicative of conditions such as heart defects and spina bifida;

Vivid 7, GE’s premier digital cardiovascular ultrasound system, bringing advancements such as parametric imaging tools and Tissue Synchronization Imaging to help better manage heart failure patients; and

LOGIQ Book, an advanced compact ultrasound system that delivers clinical versatility and convenience with color flow and Doppler capabilities.
GE’s strong growth was by and large enabled by the Company’s ability to expand into new clinical segments with an innovative technology and service portfolio.

Focusing on the OB/GYN market, Harvey Klein, president of Klein Biomedical stated, “The large increase in the growth of the OB/GYN market was a surprise. It showed GE’s ability to continue strong growth of the Voluson 730 system.”

Since 1998, GE has paced the industry in technological advancement via its breakthrough strategy. Each year, the company focuses on advancements that solve clinically relevant problems; significantly enhance image quality; and have a broad range of clinical applications. This unique R&D strategy has enabled GE to introduce a series of industry advancements including Speckle Reduction Imaging, Tissue Synchronization Imaging and its unique, patented TruScan architecture.

“As GE scientists and engineers are inventing new ways to make ultrasound images clearer and more quantitative, they are also finding ways to make the systems smaller and more portable,” added Ishrak. “Our work to develop miniaturization technologies will help ultrasound truly become the ‘visual stethoscope of the future’, providing doctors with access to critical real-time patient data in virtually any clinical setting.”

In an analysis of new technologies, Klein stated, “The most exciting new technology in the Ultrasound field over the last decade has been, with little doubt, the field of contrast agents.”

With its $9.5 billion acquisition of Amersham finalized in April, GE is the industry’s first to unite ultrasound imaging systems, image management systems and contrast agents. GE’s Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microsphere for Injection, USP) product is a well-established ultrasound contrast agent for imaging the left ventrical and left ventricular endocardial borders of the heart. Following an inconclusive echocardiogram, a contrast-enhanced exam using Optison can help doctors visualize the walls of the heart, enabling more accurate diagnosis of the patient's heart condition and providing guidance for the selection and monitoring of treatment.

“The acquisition of Amersham provides GE with a more holistic view of Ultrasound – from image acquisition to contrast enhancement to analysis to archival. GE is now uniquely positioned to meet customers’ needs today, and design a new era of ultrasound that helps doctors find diseases earlier when they can be more successfully treated,” said Ishrak.

About GE Healthcare:

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that will shape a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare’s expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, disease research, drug discovery and biopharmaceuticals is dedicated to detecting disease earlier and tailoring treatment for individual patients. GE Healthcare offers a broad range of services to improve productivity in healthcare and enable healthcare providers to better diagnose, treat and manage patients with conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases.

GE Healthcare is a $14 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) that is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 42,500 people 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.

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