The acquisition of Vingmed Corp., Norway, in 1998 launched an amazing journey for GE Healthcare. At this year's meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, in Toronto, GE Healthcare is commemorating the first ten years of that journey and celebrating the promise of the many tomorrows ahead.

"To sit back and think about the achievements and strides we've made over the past ten years is remarkable," said business General Manager Anders Wold, who joined GE from Vingmed. "Perhaps even more remarkable, however, is to think of those achievements as prologue to the endless possibilities ahead."

A timeline follows.

1999
GE introduced System FiVe, the first cardiovascular ultrasound system under the GE label. System FiVe offered the then-breakthrough features of quantitative contrast imaging and DICOM connectivity.

2000
Vivid is born. The Vivid 3 is released as one of the first PC software and hardware based ultrasound systems and the Vivid FiVe added tissue tracking to the already growing family.

2001
The Vivid, along with information management solution EchoPAC PC, made their debut. Vivid 7 took its post as GE's high-end PC-based ultrasound scanner that would serve as the foundation for many future breakthroughs in the years to come.

2002
GE introduced strain imaging on its Vivid 7 as well as new vascular and shared service applications. Vivid 3 gained a new transducer (the3S) and EchoPAC connectivity.

2003
Based on input from industry leaders, GE introduced TSI (Tissue Synchronization Imaging) on the Vivid 7. This served to help clinicians manage their heart failure patient cases. Vivid 4 debuted with its 18 transducers opening the door to a previously unthinkable array of shared service applications.

2004
In 2004, Vivid 7 picked up the Dimension moniker based on its new real-time 4D and multi-dimensional imaging capabilities. Vivid entered the compact ultrasound market with the introduction of the Vivid i. GE's first compact cardiovascular ultrasound system brought the performance of 400-pound console systems into a lightweight, compact design, making it easier for clinicians to perform diagnostic exams outside the echo lab or even outside of the hospital. In addition, the contrast agent Optison joined the GE portfolio as a result of the 2004 acquisition of the Amersham, a global leader in medical diagnostics and life sciences.

2005
Breakthroughs on the Vivid 7 included the introduction of Automated IMT (intima-media thickness) measurements and 9-slice imaging. Also in 2005, structured findings came to EchoPAC and Image Vault, GE's dedicated cardiovascular ultrasound server and storage solution, came onto the scene.

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