Over the next two months, GE HealthCare will introduce Prostate Volume Assist, an AI-based software feature for ultrasound in urology that it launched at the end of March, in Europe and the U.S.

The company will debut the technology at the European Association of Urology Congress being held in Paris from April 5 to 8, and at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio from May 3 to 6.

Through an automated, one-click process, PVA AI adds functionality to improve workflow for prostate imaging, biopsies, and guiding treatments by quickly measuring the volume of the organ to identify and plan treatment for several diseases. It also performs calculations such as prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), which is necessary for detecting and managing prostate cancer. The feature will be available on the bkActiv, bk3000/5000, and bkSpecto intraoperative ultrasound solutions.

“This technology provides urologists with a unique solution to enhance workflows, guide surgical urology procedures, and allow them to quickly retrieve the important details they need to make critical treatment decisions,” said Urvi Vyas, general manager of surgical visualization and guidance for ultrasound at GE HealthCare, in a statement.

PVA AI automates the manual process of calculating prostate volume measurements and produces results in under two minutes. It is designed to boost confidence in managing treatments and help scale the potential of ultrasound systems equipped with it.

The bk portfolio is designed by BK Medical, which was acquired in 2021 by GE HealthCare for $1.45 billion. bkActiv is already equipped with advanced algorithms and automatic no-touch autogain for strong image quality and enables minimal user interaction so that surgeons can focus on patients. It also has sensitive color doppler to visualize and measure the speed and direction of blood flow during the most complex surgical procedures.

The bk3000 and 5000 both have full suites of technologies for advanced controls and adjustments, including color Doppler with spatial resolution and sensitivity, Trucolor dynamic color flow, image enhancement, elastography, unique Vector Flow Imaging, contrast imaging, and 3D imaging.

bkSpecto comes with a sealed glass interface for "sightless navigation" via Tru-Sense technology and enables touch-based workflow. It also can adjust its monitor (portrait or landscape), interface angle, and system height for individual needs, and has a wide range of BK Medical's high-performance and sterilizable transducers.

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