GE HealthCare this past week said it will acquire the clinical artificial intelligence business of Intelligent Ultrasound Group. The price for the software buy is about $51 million, the companies said.

WHY IT MATTERS
Intelligent Ultrasound develops AI-enabled imaging analytics tools that integrate with ultrasounds to enable more efficient diagnostics. GE says it will incorporate these technologies across its portfolio of ultrasound tools – improve streamline workflows and improve ease-of-use for clinicians.

For instance, Intelligent Ultrasound's ScanNav Assist AI tech already powers SonoLystlive and SonoLyst X/IR, which are available on GE HealthCare’s Voluson ultrasound devices. By acquiring those tools outright, GE HealthCare "adds an AI innovation pipeline that serves to help advance future development and realize long-term efficiencies," the company says.

GE will onboard Intelligent Ultrasound's team of R&D experts, it says, who will help the company drive AI-enabled image recognition and innovation for GE HealthCare Women’s Health ultrasound devices and other tools.

The transaction, which GE HealthCare will fund with cash on hand, is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q4 2024. After the sale, Intelligent Ultrasound says it will continue to operate, focused on its high-fidelity ultrasound simulation technology designed to enhance ultrasound education.

THE LARGER TREND
This new acquisition deal, which follows GE HealthCare’s 2023 purchase of Caption Health, further adds to GE HealthCare’s portfolio of AI-enabled devices – which the company notes tops the FDA’s list of AI-enabled device authorizations across medtech companies.

GE points out that that such technologies are "vital to relieving burdens placed on sonographers," noting that more than 80% of hospitals report radiology technologist shortages – and 90% of sonographers report work-related musculoskeletal disorders due to workload and repetitive motions, among other factors."

The goal is that more streamlined and automated imaging workflows can reduce manual processes and offer "greater reproducibility between users, and allow clinicians to focus more on patient care."

ON THE RECORD
"I really believe that we are at the start of a wave of AI making a profound difference to medical imaging, and especially ultrasound," said Nick Sleep, chief operating officer at Intelligent Ultrasound, who will join GE HealthCare. "Becoming part of the GE HealthCare family will help speed the adoption of this technology and make ultrasound even easier for customers to use."

Adding Intelligent Ultrasound software into GE's ultrasound portfolio will "help clinicians improve workflow, reduce repetitive tasks, and simplify exams," added Phil Rackliffe, president and CEO of GE HealthCare's Ultrasound and Image Guided Therapies. "This technology and the experts who developed it will help enhance our portfolio of AI-enabled devices and accelerate our pace of development of next-generation AI tools."
 

Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.

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