GE HealthCare is betting big on artificial intelligence, with plans to ramp up development of AI-enabled devices by adding more than 120 new ones to its portfolio in the next three years.
The company, which reported $1.2 billion in revenue from its digital platforms and software in 2023, told investors at an event last week it seeks to increase that revenue number by 50% by 2028.
“As we progress, every product that we launch in the market in the next eight years will incorporate AI technology,” said Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, global chief science and technology officer of GE HealthCare, during the event.
Here's how the company plans to grow its healthcare business.
A focused AI product strategy
Healthcare providers are asking for secure, digital tools with smart AI features that give them clear, easy-to-understand results, according to the company. It aims to address those needs with its new CareIntellect cloud-first digital solution.
“Think about your smartphone and the operating system [that comes] with that,” Kass-Hout said in an interview. “There’s a single sign-on and then you [have access to] a lot of apps."
The first application on the platform is CareIntellect for Oncology, which is expected to be commercially available next year. It aggregates patient data from different devices and uses generative AI to summarize clinical notes and reports, essentially giving providers the patient’s entire care journey in a single view.
Tampa General Hospital piloted the technology for use with its prostate cancer patients. The hospital determined it also wanted to use the technology for breast cancer patients, and GE HealthCare reconfigured it for that use case in four weeks.
Dr. Peter Chang, senior vice president and chief transformation officer at Tampa General, said in a statement that he plans to use the technology to help guide patient care and determine if patients qualify for clinical trials.
The company has another AI solution in the research stage that will bring together multiple AI ‘agents’ to evaluate data from a variety of sources and create treatment plan recommendations for cancer patients.
Targeted AI acquisitions
GE HealthCare made two key acquisitions in the AI space this year. It bought medical imaging analysis software company MIM Software in April. Terms were not disclosed. In October, it acquired Intelligent Ultrasound's clinical AI business for $51 million.
The MIM Software technology is useful for oncologists because it brings patients’ data together and helps them understand where to find tumors and the amount of radiation dose needed, Kass-Hout said.
“How we think about M&A is it has to align with our priorities for the midterm and long term,” said Catherine Estrampes, president and CEO of GE HealthCare U.S. and Canada, in an interview. “They have to complement what we already have from a technology perspective and they need to bring differentiation to our customers.”
Customer-centric product development
Another part of the company's AI strategy is listening to its customers and creating products to serve those needs. Some providers are concerned about how AI tools will add value without overcomplicating processes.
“We are making sure that what we are developing is actually responding to a real problem that our customers have,” Estrampes said.
As AI applications are developed, whether on devices or for the enterprise, the company makes sure they integrate with hospitals’ workflows and don't add more work for overburdened clinicians or technicians.
“As we automate the process, we are making their life easier,” Kass-Hout said. “We want to shave off more time [that they spend] reading, so they can focus on the patient.”
He acknowledged the potential drawbacks of AI including the tendency for models to drift. AI models might give the wrong answer because the data has changed, the situation is different, or the operator doesn’t agree with the result.
“One big component of that is understanding how these models are operating,” Kass-Hout said. “Creating a feedback loop is very, very important. It’s a critical component of how we’re building AI responsibly."
