Of course, the device is at least several years away from the market. As LeGrand explained, it was only a drawing until recently.

More immediately, perhaps, the company is looking to bring the SenoBright Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography, to the U.S. market. Already commercially available in Europe -- and in use in some 17 centers in Europe and Asia -- since December, and shown last year at RSNA, the device combines contrast enhancement with mammography to better illuminate cancer-feeding blood vessels.


The diagnostic device, currently pending Food and Drug Administration clearance, could help doctors select women needing biopsies, and might be most helpful for women with dense breasts.

LeGrand said the technology is built on concepts similar to those used in digital subtraction angiography. In this, a non-contrast image is first taken, and then subtracted from a contrast image -- prepared by injecting the patient with iodine -- to get a better view of blood vessels. As for pricing, LeGrand said the device would likely be sold as an add-on to existing mammography units.

Expanded access

But before any of the technology comes out, the company is also looking to expand access through a partnership with Susan B. Komen for the Cure.

The three-year initiative will try to raise mammography screening rates in rural Wyoming -- which has the lowest screening compliance in the U.S. -- China and Saudi Arabia.

In Wyoming, one of the country's most rural states, GE is partnering with Shared Medical Services, a Cottage Grove, Wis.-based provider of mobile mammo, CT and MRI units (and DOTmed 100 listee), as well as some other in-state groups, to modernize appointment bookings.

In Saudi Arabia, probably starting in October, GE said it will develop and deploy two mobile screening units in Riyadh City, with the aim of screening 10,000 women within the first year. And in China, GE will launch an outreach and education program in Beijing and the Guangdong Province this month, which could ultimately reach 120 million women.

VC funding

In addition, the company is ponying up $50 million, which is being matched by an additional $50 million from a gaggle of leading venture capitalists. GE's VC partners include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock, Mohr Davidow and MPM Capital.

The new fund will award $100,000 seed grants to entrepreneurs developing technology that allows for earlier detection, improves science's understanding of triple-negative breast cancer, which is less responsive to typical treatments, and identifies the similarities between breast cancer and other solid tumors.

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