GE HealthCare yesterday announced a collaboration with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine to investigate advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols and techniques for female-specific diseases and conditions of the pelvis and develop comprehensive educational materials for clinicians. The goal of the project is to elevate women’s pelvic health, filling an important gap in medical research and care. Its results have the potential to enable clinicians to make more informed decisions, diagnose diseases and conditions faster and provide increased access to quality pelvic care for women.
The Center for Translational Imaging and Precision Medicine (CTIPM) at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine will be the collaborating site to conduct the project. The project will be led by Rebecca Rakow-Penner, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering at UC San Diego and Deputy Director for CTIPM.
The project encompasses a spectrum of diseases of the female pelvis, including better visualization of endometriosis and ovarian cancer using MRI techniques in both clinical and academic research settings.
Pelvic diseases and conditions in female patients are often understudied, misdiagnosed, and ineffectively treated, which can be debilitating for women and cause substantial economic burden for healthcare systems, hospitals and patients. In the U.S., pelvic pain accounts for an estimated 20% of all outpatient appointments in secondary care for female patients and an estimated $882 million in outpatient management expenses.[i]
The project plans to create training and educational materials alongside the protocols, all of which could be available as resources for GE HealthCare MRI users around the world, in the hopes of creating a lasting impact in regional and global communities. Increasing access to advanced imaging techniques for clinicians can help drive effective diagnosis and management of pelvic diseases and conditions for female patients.
The collaboration aims to elevate women’s pelvic healthcare and increase access to innovative imaging solutions for female patients, enabling faster diagnosis and treatment and improved patient care.
[i] Latthe P, Latthe M, Say L, Gülmezoglu M, Khan KS. WHO systematic review of prevalence of chronic pelvic pain: a neglected reproductive health morbidity. BMC Public Health. 2006 Jul 6;6:177. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-6-177. PMID: 16824213; PMCID: PMC1550236.
Howard FM. The role of laparoscopy in chronic pelvic pain: promise and pitfalls. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 1993;48:357–387.
Mathias SD, Kuppermann M, Liberman RF, Lipschutz RC, Steege JF. Chronic pelvic pain: prevalence, health-related quality of life, and economic correlates. Obstet Gynecol. 1996;87:321–327. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(95)00458-0.
