GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare develops both hardware and software technologies that solve some of the most pressing problems in healthcare. It has divisions devoted to everything from surgical tools to data-sharing solutions for hospital groups. As a leading maker of medical diagnostic equipment, in 2017 it introduced a new mammography system to detect breast cancer. Spotting breast cancer early reduces the risk of dying from it by 25% to 50%. But because of the discomfort associated with getting an annual mammogram, as many as 40% of women in Europe and 30% in the U.S. skip screenings. GE tasked a team of women at its design lab outside Paris with reinventing the mammogram experience, and they came up with Senographe Pristina, a 3D mammography system that gives patients a remote control to adjust the amount of compression used during an exam. Senographe Pristina’s design also changes the way a patient is positioned—rather than gripping handles, which tenses pectoral muscles and impacts image quality, they lean comfortably on armrests, which relaxes the muscles.