DULLES, VA. (Aug. 14, 2:50 p.m. ET) — A Buc, France, operation of General Electric Co.’s health-care segment and three designers separately won two gold awards in the 2012 International Designer Excellence Awards, organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America.

One honor was for the concept of a cocoon open magnetic-resonance-imaging chair that would focus on the anatomy of the vertebrae, disks, spinal cord and separations.

Materials include ABS in some covers, Delrin polyoxymethylene for a few covers and mechanical parts, polyamide in structural parts, thermoforming polyurethane in fabric, sheet steel and die-cast aluminum.

Credits go to GE Healthcare and the firm’s Lionel Wodecki and Ludovic Avot.

The other GE Healthcare award was for a laser-guided, robotic, interventional X-ray system known as the Discovery IGS 730. Materials include PU and ABS for the covers and controls, silicone for some buttons and bumpers, polyamide for cable protection, aluminum, metal alloys and glass.

The image-guided system has the mobility of a small C-arm with the power and image quality of a fixed system.

Development took place over three years and overcame challenges to make the system technically achievable and aesthetically pleasing. It was important to make the device consistent with other interventional guided systems and in anticipation of future hybrid room requirements and procedures. Credits go to GE Healthcare and Jean-Michel Marteau.