InSightec Signs Worldwide Sales and Marketing Agreement With GE Healthcare

    HAIFA, Israel, August 17 /PRNewswire/ -- InSightec, Ltd. has signed a
 worldwide sales and marketing agreement with GE Healthcare, a unit of General
 Electric Company (NYSE:   GE), for the sales and marketing of its ExAblate(R)
 2000, a Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) system,
 the company said today. ExAblate 2000 is a non-invasive therapy system that
 combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with highly focused ultrasound to
 thermally ablate (destroy) tumors in the body. The ExAblate 2000 works
 exclusively with the Signa MR systems made by GE Healthcare.
     Under the terms of this agreement, GE Healthcare will have exclusive
 worldwide distribution rights for ExAblate except in Japan and Russia where
 InSightec already has existing distributors and representatives. InSightec
 and GE Healthcare will also collaborate on marketing and research and
 development. The agreement is for five years, effective immediately. GE is a
 minority shareholder in InSightec.
     "We are very pleased to have a formal agreement with GE Healthcare, the
 leader in the MR marketplace," Dr. Jacob Vortman, president and CEO,
 InSightec, said. "This relationship offers a clear differentiation for GE
 Healthcare, while allowing us to accelerate penetration of our MR guided
 Focused Ultrasound technology in markets around the world."
     The ExAblate 2000 is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
 approved system to use the breakthrough MRgFUS technology that combines MRI
 -- to visualize tissues in the body, plan the treatment and monitor in real
 time treatment outcome -- and high intensity focused ultrasound to thermally
 ablate tissue. MR thermal feedback, provided uniquely by the system, allows
 the physician to control and adjust the treatment in real time to ensure that
 the targeted tumor is fully treated and surrounding tissue is spared. To date
 approximately 1200 women have been treated with ExAblate 2000 for uterine
 fibroids, a benign condition that affects approximately 25% of women, and
 clinical trials are underway for bone, liver, and breast tumors.
     About InSightec
     InSightec Image Guided Treatment Ltd. is a privately held company owned
 by Elbit Medical Imaging (EMI), General Electric, private investors and
 employees. It was founded in 1999 to develop the breakthrough MR guided
 Focused Ultrasound technology and transform it into the next generation
 operating rooms. Headquartered near Haifa, Israel, the company has over 100
 employees and has invested more than $80 million in research, development,
 and clinical investigations. Its U.S. headquarters are located in Dallas,
 Texas. For more information, please go to: http://www.insightec.com/
     About GE Healthcare
     GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies that are
 shaping a new age of patient care. GE Healthcare's expertise in medical
 imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring
 and life support systems, disease research, drug discovery, and
 biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping physicians detect
 disease earlier and tailor personalized treatments for their patients. GE
 Healthcare offers a broad range of products and services that are improving
 productivity in healthcare and enhancing patient care by enabling healthcare
 providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological
 diseases, and other conditions.
     GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:  
 GE) headquartered in the United Kingdom. Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs
 more than 43,000 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.
 
     Contact Information
 
     InSightec
     www.insightec.com
     Tel: +972-4-813-1313
     Email: info@insightec.com
 
     For media inquiries, contact:
 
     Fern Lazar
     Lazar Partners, Ltd.
     Tel: +1-(212)-867-1762
     Email: flazar@lazarpartners.com
 
 
 

SOURCE  Insightec Ltd.