General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp. said the previously announced joint venture for their healthcare information technology businesses will be called Caradigm.

GE and Microsoft plan to combine some of their existing health technology products as well as develop a new technology platform and clinical applications for their 50/50 joint venture, which was announced in December.

Caradigm is expected to launch in the first half of this year, pending regulatory approvals, according to a news release.

Michael Simpson was named CEO of the joint venture in December. The companies also announced that a number of GE and Microsoft executives had been appointed to leadership roles at Caradigm.

From GE, the companies named Dr. Brandon Savage, currently chief medical officer for GE Healthcare IT, as chief medical officer and senior vice president of product strategy; Nigel Mason, director of GE Healthcare's Commercial Centre of Excellence, as COO; and Warren Ratliff, chief counsel for GE Healthcare IT Knowledge and Connectivity Solutions, as general counsel and vice president.

Microsoft's Neal Singh, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics AX, was tapped as chief technology officer and senior vice president of engineering, and Tami Lamp, senior human resources director at Microsoft, was named chief people officer.

The positions are not effective until the joint venture receives regulatory approval, a spokeswoman for GE Healthcare said.