(Yicai Global) May 12 -- General Electric's healthcare arm in China is striving to bring its production of contrast media used in computed tomography imaging to normal amid global shortages of such intravenous liquids applied to improve imaging quality.

GE Healthcare's factory in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, which makes up more than half of the American company's global output of contrast agents, is sparing no efforts to recover capacity while coordinating with several other factories worldwide to supply goods, GE Healthcare China said to Yicai Global.

The plant resumed operations with a closed-loop system of no external visitors after several weeks of suspended production amid the eastern city's lockdown, according to the firm.

The tight supply has affected hospitals in the United States. The American Hospital Association said in a statement on May 10 that the Food and Drug Administration had reported shortages of GE Healthcare’s iohexol and iodixanol contrast media products. The AHA was expecting production to return to normal in late June.

On May 4, the Greater New York Hospital Association said in a press release that GE Healthcare anticipates an 80 percent reduction in its iodinated contrast media supplies for the following six to eight weeks.

The Chicago-headquartered drugmaker owns four contrast media plants worldwide. The company's factory in Ireland is expanding its capacity to reduce the impacts on hospitals and patients, according to the firm. But that may not be enough to fulfill the global demand.

Chinese hospitals have not reported similar problems, Yicai Global learned. One of the reasons may be that several domestic contrast media makers were included in the government's centralized procurement program last year.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi