GE HealthCare became a standalone company in January 2023, deftly merging its 125-year legacy of innovation with the energy and enthusiasm of a start-up as it stepped out from under the wing of parent GE. The company continued its work to help solve the global healthcare industry’s most pressing challenges with groundbreaking technology, diagnostics and improved digital tools to help clinicians deliver better patient outcomes, all while laying the groundwork for the future of healthcare.
“Together we are building a laser-focused organization that puts people, patients and providers at the center,” says Peter Arduini, President & CEO of GE HealthCare. “Our goal is to enable precision care with technology, research, collaborations and advocacy. We also continue to build on a heritage of innovation and bring to market new technologies and products that enable clinicians to detect and treat diseases more effectively.”
Driven by its purpose to create a world where healthcare has no limits, GE HealthCare is working on advancements to enhance diagnostic accuracy, personalize patient care, improve operational efficiency and expand access to healthcare, while continuing to strengthen and dynamize the culture and operating model within the company. In 2023, the company established new strategic collaborations to develop the next generation of medical devices, solutions and tools to bring cost-effective, high-quality healthcare to underserved regions. Its precision diagnostics and innovations have played a role in new therapy delivery and monitoring and its investments in artificial intelligence and digital solutions are helping advance the digital transformation.
Here are some of GE HealthCare’s 2023 highlights.
Trusted Partners
GE HealthCare actively pursued strategic collaborations with healthcare providers, research institutions and technology companies to share expertise, pool resources and accelerate the development of innovative solutions to address ever-evolving patient, provider, and clinician needs. Among the important collaborations announced this year was a $44 million agreement with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Together, GE HealthCare and BARDA will work to develop advanced ultrasound technology with artificial intelligence applications to support clinicians of all skill levels with the goal of helping diagnose lung pathologies and traumatic injuries quickly, which could prove valuable during mass casualty events, like natural disasters or multi-car pileups, where patients require swift evaluation and treatment.
Other collaborations, like those with the Mayo Clinic and SOFIE Biosciences, aim to develop AI algorithms and molecular imaging pharmaceuticals used from diagnosis through treatment and beyond across a wide range of cancer types to help transform the experience of patients and clinicians in the practice of radiology and the delivery of novel therapies.
“We will accelerate innovation and increase the clinical impact of our technologies beyond what [any]of our organizations could achieve independently,” says Jan Makela, president and CEO of Imaging, GE HealthCare.
In December 2023, Arduini was elected Chair of the Board of Directors for AdvaMed, the world's largest medical technology association, to lead its work advancing medical technology in order to achieve healthier lives and healthier economies around the world. This follows the appointment of Dr. Taha Kass-Hout as first chair of their Digital Health Tech Board of Directors, created by AdvaMed in October 2023. AdvaMed advocates globally for the highest ethical standards and patient access to safe, effective and innovative medical technologies that can help save and improve lives.
Artificial Intelligence
As artificial intelligence took a more prominent role in healthcare, GE HealthCare positioned itself to deliver services and solutions throughout the healthcare ecosystem as a sort of one-stop shop, offering a wide breadth of AI-enabled solutions and productivity tools, including image analysis tools, digital pathology systems and remote patient monitoring solutions. These advancements aim to enhance diagnostic accuracy, personalize patient care, improve operational efficiency and expand access to healthcare. At the same time, the company kept an eye on the needs of providers and patients, with options for everything from managing patient loads efficiently and effectively to helping support faster and earlier diagnoses —all of which are aiming to lead to less stress for providers and better outcomes for patients.
The company is also working on AI that could help synthesize a patient’s data — from medical scans, doctors’ notes, lab results and other medical sources — by integrating images, audio and text. The CardioVisio for Atrial Fibrillation tool, launched this summer, is the first phase, consolidating months and years’ worth of a cardiac data and providing patient-specific recommendations based on the latest clinical cardiac guidelines.
“In the next 10 years we may see some of the most profound changes in healthcare, more so than the whole last 100,” Arduini says. “And a lot will be because of what's happening, in particular, with the evolution of AI and its effect on healthcare.”
Acquisitions
GE HealthCare kicked off 2023 with key acquisitions of IMACTIS and Caption Health to support the development of industry-leading products and solutions that are designed to offer more personalized diagnostics and treatments for individual patients, leveraging GE HealthCare's large installed base and global scale. IMACTIS offers a 3D CT-Navigation system designed to improve workflow for interventional radiologists and hospitals by helping to increase procedural accuracy and help reduce procedure time.
Caption Health’s AI-enabled ultrasound software, Caption Guidance, is designed to make scans easier for non-expert users to operate and therefore well suited for remote and underserved areas which can lack healthcare personnel experienced with ultrasound. Within six months of the acquisition, Caption Guidance software was integrated into GE HealthCare’s Venue Family point-of-care ultrasound systems. The technology integration will enable a broader set of healthcare providers to perform critical cardiac exams with real-time guidance.
“At GE HealthCare, we see possibilities through innovation,” Arduini says. “We’re partnering with our customers to fulfill healthcare’s greatest potential through groundbreaking medical technology, intelligent and connected devices and care solutions because better tools enable better patient care. Together, we are working towards a healthier future.”
