Ziekenhuis Rivierenland in major upgrade of diagnostics capabilities

Photo: Matthijs Huttinga, Unit Manager Imaging Technologies and Susan Zoetekouw at Ziekenhuis Rivierenland.

In Tiel, Ziekenhuis Rivierenland is making a significant investment in diagnostic imaging equipment. The upgrades from GE HealthCare help enable faster diagnostic confidence, improved patient experience, and reduced wait times for the region’s citizens.

[city, date]. Today, Ziekenhuis Rivierenland and GE HealthCare announced a collaboration that will offer patients in the Tiel region increased access to the latest innovative, diagnostic imaging equipment for the years to come.

The upgrades, which include a 1.5T MRI scanner, a PET/CT scanner, and more, help increase diagnostic confidence for a wide range of oncological, inflammatory, and cardiac conditions. In some cases, examination times are expected to be cut by up to 50%1.

“This investment is expected to bring meaningful improvements to patient care across the region. In our radiology department alone, we perform around 120,000 examinations each year. By enhancing both the quality and functionality of our diagnostic tools, we’re now able to offer advanced diagnostics that were previously unavailable, bringing them closer to home for many of our patients,” said V.H.P. Tran, Radiologist at Ziekenhuis Rivierenland.

Prepared for future needs

With the significant investment in diagnostic capabilities, the institution anticipates measurable benefits from the new equipment in the coming years:

“All things considered, including the time spent preparing and managing each patient, we estimate a 30% increase in the number of patients we can examine. Additionally, we’ll save both time and costs by no longer needing to transport patients requiring a PET/CT scan to other hospitals—a type of examination we previously couldn’t provide ourselves,” said Matthijs Huttinga, Unit Manager Imaging Technolgies at Ziekenhuis Rivierenland.

“Naturally, image quality is paramount, and the image quality we get from GE HealthCare devices is high. However, it is equally important to us that GE HealthCare serves as a long-term and reliable partner that that can enable us to scale up for future needs and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and innovations in the years ahead. What truly differentiates GE HealthCare’s technology is the AI features and optimized workflows,” said Matthijs Huttinga.

Long-term collaboration paves the way for greater quality and reliability in services

“We are excited to collaborate with Ziekenhuis Rivierenland to provide the latest AI-powered diagnostic imaging equipment. Together we will transform the way care is delivered to patients in the Tiel region of the Netherlands over the coming years,” says Raymond Koren, Imaging Country Sales Manager, GE HealthCare in the Netherlands.

The investment in imaging diagnostics at Rivierenland includes:

  • MRI scanner: SIGNA™ Voyager Premier Edition

    1.5T wide-bore MRI scanner designed to balance patient comfort with consitent, exceptional image quality, while enabling faster* acquisition time with deep-learning resconstruction techniques.
  • CT scanner: Revolution™ Vibe

    CT system designed for consistent, exceptional image quality for
    every patient, even for challening cases like atrial fibrillation, heavily calcified coronaries, and patient with breath-holding difficulties.
  • PET/CT: OMNI Legend 21

    PET/CT system designed for comprehensive diagnostic applications across oncology, cardiology, neurology, and theranostics. Capable of imaging the whole body supporting a wide range of diagnostic needs.
  • SPECT/CT scanner: NM/CT 860

    NM/CT 860 is a hybrid SPECT/CT system suitable for a wide range of nuclear medicine applications, designed for high-performance clinical environments.
  • Image processing software: MIM Software and AW

    Software packages that enable advanced image processing,
    including reconstruction workflows with 3D rendering and quantitative analysis.

The first patients were examined using the SPECT/CT scanner in June 2025. The CT scanner is scheduled for installation in March 2026, the MR scanner in the summer of 2026 and the PET/CT is set to follow at the end of 2026.

1 SIGNA Voyager MR 30.1 Premier Edition Datasheet, DOC2733414. Based on MAGiC (MAGnetic resonance image Compilation) clinical study of 109 patients from 6 separate institutions.
*Compared to previous generation MR acceleration techniques.
Matthijs Huttinga, V.H.P. Tran, and Susan Zoetekouw from Ziekenhuis Rivierenland do not have any contractual relationship beyond the fact of being end users of a GE HealthCare medical device.

The statements by GE HealthCare’s customers described here are based on their own opinions and on results that were achieved in their unique setting. Since there is no “typical” hospital/clinical setting and many variables exist, i.e., hospital size, case mix, staff expertise, etc., there can be no guarantee that others will achieve the same results.

© 2026 GE HealthCare. GE HealthCare reserves the right to make changes in specifications and features shown herein, or discontinue the product described at any time without notice or obligation.
Contact your GE HealthCare representative for the most current information. Revolution and SIGNA are trademarks of GE HealthCare. GE is a trademark of General Electric Company used under trademark license. JB00527XN