EXHIBIT 2

                                 PRESS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ---------------------

               GE Medical Systems and Marquette Medical Systems
                 Sign Definitive Agreement to Merge Operations

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (September 21, 1998) -- GE Medical Systems and Marquette Medical
Systems, Inc., today announced a definitive agreement for Marquette to merge its
operations with GE Medical Systems. As part of this transaction, Marquette
shareholders will receive $45 per share payable in GE stock. For its fiscal year
ended April 30 , 1998, Marquette's revenues were $578 million and its net income
was $26.6 million ($1.46 per share, fully diluted).

     "Marquette is an innovative firm with a broad line of leading products and
     services in diagnostic cardiology, patient monitoring and integration of
     clinical information," said Jeffrey R. Immelt, GE Medical Systems President
     and CEO. "This proposed merger will significantly expand GE Medical
     Systems' portfolio into new and complementary areas that will enable us to
     better serve customers and their patients."

     "With a track record that includes three decades of steady growth,
     combining these two leaders is our next logical step," said Marquette
     Chairman Michael Cudahy. "Marquette made its name through continual
     innovation. By joining with GE Medical Systems, we will have the resources
     to stay out in front with technology that works for health care providers."

     "Today's hospital administrator is looking for a supplier that can deliver
     a full spectrum of integrated products and services," said Dr. Fred
     Robertson, Marquette's Chief Executive Officer. "Together, Marquette and GE
     Medical Systems come to the table with a solutions set that our customers
     will find very attractive."

     Marquette, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis., manufactures and
     distributes products and systems to acquire, record, and monitor cardiology
     data and vital signs. Among Marquette's offerings are resting
     electrocardiography (ECG), exercise stress testing systems, and point-of-
     care monitoring of adult, fetal, and neonatal patients.

     Marquette employs more than 3,100 people worldwide, and operates through
     facilities in Milwaukee; Wallingford, Conn.; Torrance, Calif.; Annapolis,
     Md.; Jupiter, Fla.; and Freiburg, Germany.

     This transaction, which is subject to Marquette shareholder and government
     approvals and other customary conditions, is expected to close by early



 
     December. The actual number of shares of GE stock that each Marquette
     shareholder will receive will be determined based on the trading prices of
     GE stock for a period of time prior to the Marquette shareholders meeting.

     In connection with the merger agreement, Marquette granted GE an option to
     acquire newly issued shares of Marquette common stock, representing 19.9%
     of its total shares outstanding, at the $45 per share transaction price. In
     addition, Mr. Cudahy entered into a shareholder agreement in which he
     agreed, among other things, to vote his shares of Marquette common stock in
     favor of the proposed merger. The agreement has been approved by the boards
     of directors of both GE and Marquette.

     GE Medical Systems, a business of the General Electric Company, is a $4.5
     billion global leader in medical diagnostic imaging systems and services.
     GE Medical Systems employs nearly 16,000 people worldwide.