UK-based healthcare corporation GE Healthcare has expanded its portfolio of ecomagination products, aimed at helping healthcare systems to reduce cost, waste and energy use.

The GE ecomagination portfolio of more than 85 products includes three new healthcare product categories, including a new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution, as well as two new healthcare products.

In order to be recognised as an ecomagination offering, a product has to complete a third-party review of the operating and environmental performance improvements it delivers to customers.

The newly-approved categories and products are:

• The Centricity Enterprise software solution, an integrated clinical, financial and administrative EMR solution that records patient demographic and clinical information in electronic form.

• The GE high-efficiency family of magnetic resonance (MR) systems, which employ efficient gradient and electronics design and new water-cooling technology, using about 34% less energy than previous 1.5T MR systems.

• The GE Digital Mammography Platform, which offers improved throughput and reduced energy use relative to analogue systems, eliminating the need to store and dispose of over 400kg of film annually.

• The WAVE Bioreactor system, which uses disposable bags rather than large steel tanks for vaccine and other biotherapeutics production.

• The +PLUSPAKTM polymer bottle for contrast media, which is smaller, lighter and safer than the traditional glass bottle, enabling a radiology department to reduce the mass of its contrast media red bag waste by 75%.

"We're committed to building a strong portfolio of products that meet both the ecomagination environmental performance standards and the needs of our customers around the globe," said John Dineen, President and CEO of GE Healthcare. "Our expanding portfolio confirms our commitment to finding innovative solutions that tackle energy use and waste reduction, both of which also reduce cost in the system."