GE Launches New Ecomagination Healthcare Products, Opens Renewable Energy HQ
<p>General Electric's healthcare arm has added five new entries to its Ecomagination line, and the company dedicated its new Renewable Energy Global Headquarters. <br /> </p>
Hospital sign - http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/ / CC BY 2.0
General Electric's Ecomagination line has grown by five with the addition of new GE Healthcare products that use less energy, water and materials.
GE's Ecomagination initiative, a wide-ranging strategy aimed at lowering the impacts of products and services coupled with research and development investments, now offers more than 85 products.
To be added to the line, products must provide operational and environmental benefits to customers.
The new GE Digital Mamography Platform lowers energy, water and chemical use by taking digital images instead of using analog film and film processing. Replacing a mammography system that processes 27,400 films per year with a digital system eliminates the creation of more than 890 pounds of film annually.
New GE high-efficiency magnetic resonance systems use 34 percent less energy than previous systems through new efficient electronics design and water cooling.
The new Centricity Enterprise software solution lets healthcare operations electronically record patient demographic and clinical information, resulting in reduced costs, improved productivity and less paper forms.
The WAVE Bioreactor system, for vaccine and other biotherapeutics production, uses disposable bags instead of large stainless steel tanks for cell culturing. This eliminates the need to clean or steam sterilize stainless steel tanks, reducing annual energy use by up to 43 percent.
Lastly, the +PLUSPAKTM polymer bottle for contrast media (substances like iodine and barium that are used to make structures and fluids in the body more visible in x-ray and other imaging) is made of plastic instead of glass, the traditional packaging for contrast media. The new bottle is smaller and lighter, takes up less storage space, and is safer.
Energy HQ Dedicated
GE has also just dedicated its new Renewable Energy Global Headquarters in Schenectady, N.Y., which will be 20 percent more energy efficient than required by state building standards and be partially powered by a 48-kilowatt solar system.
The dedication of the $45 million facility coincided with the installation of GE's 13,500th wind turbine globally. GE's wind energy revenues now exceed $6 billion.
Hospital sign - http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/ / CC BY 2.0
