GE Healthcare has signed a deal with Welsh firm, Intelligent Ultrasound Group, to acquire the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) driven ultrasound business outright at a price tag of £40.5m ($51m)
GE Healthcare is looking to bolster its own ultrasound portfolio and streamline clinician workflow by acquiring the Cardiff company’s ScanNav Assist AI technology software, which is designed to carry real-time image recognition, and already used across GE Healthcare’s SonoLystlive and SonoLyst X/IR ultrasound systems, giving the company control over Intelligent Ultrasound’s AI pipeline.
Now, GE Healthcare says that the company’s team of research and development experts will be put to work across itsultrasound and women’s health divisions.
Phil Rackliffe, president and CEO of ultrasound and image-guided therapies at GE HealthCare, said: “We are pleased to bring innovative technology from Intelligent Ultrasound into GE HealthCare’s Ultrasound portfolio, allowing us to fully integrate these solutions into our systems to help clinicians improve workflow, reduce repetitive tasks, and simplify exams.
“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.”
The sale excludes the Welsh firm’s NeedleTrainer and Trainer Plus product which will be retained within the company’s remaining simulation business which generated total revenues of £10m in 2023. In a statement to investors, Intelligent Ultrasound said that whilst it was proud of its AI unit, ScanNav-related AI revenue streams have been slower than was originally forecast. The announcement comes amid a small hike in GE Healthcare’s stock value. Valued at $82.47 per share, up from $80 per share at close of market on 15 July.
The acquisition comes as GE Healthcare cites research carried out by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography that found that 90% of sonographers report work-related musculoskeletal disorders due to workload and repetitive motions, with the hope that streamlined workflows and AI-enabled protocols can reduce manual processes, provide greater reproducibility between users, and allow clinicians to focus more on patient care.
The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q4 2024. Nick Sleep, chief operating officer at Intelligent Ultrasound, said: “I really believe that we are at the start of a wave of AI making a profound difference to medical imaging, and especially ultrasound.”
The acquisition comes as GE Healthcare partners with Medis, a specialist in medical imaging software in a bid to improve the company’s cardiovascular diagnostics unit. At the same time, GE has also partnered with Netherlands-based cardiac imaging software company Medis Medical Imaging to develop and commercialise non-invasive coronary assessments to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease.
