Medical equipment giant GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. has arranged its latest acquisition in an effort to enhance its innovation pipeline around artificial intelligence.
GE HealthCare, which spun off from General Electric Co. in 2023, announced an agreement to acquire United Kingdom-based Intelligent Ultrasound Group PLC’s clinical AI software business for around $51 million.
While GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) is based in Chicago, it has major product development and production operations in the Milwaukee area, where it has about 5,100 employees.
The acquisition of Intelligent Ultrasound's AI-driven image analysis tools, which aim to improve ultrasounds, will help support GE HealthCare's precision care strategy to improve health care. One of 15 Chicago-area Fortune 500 companies, GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) plans to use Intelligent Ultrasound's technology across its ultrasound portfolio.
"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," said Phil Rackliffe, president and CEO of ultrasound and image guided therapies at GE HealthCare, in a statement.
Rackliffe said he expects Intelligent Ultrasound's technology to help clinicians improve workflow, reduce repetitive tasks and simplify exams. AI-enabled protocols in health care can reduce manual process and allow clinicians to focus more on patient care, according to GE.
GE HealthCare acquired Caption Health in 2023, adding new AI-enabled image guidance and AI development expertise to its early disease detection.
Additional details of the Intelligent Ultrasound acquisition were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. GE HealthCare said it will fund the transaction with cash on hand.
