GE HealthCare (GEHC) Uses AI Solution to Boost Medical Imaging – March 25, 2024
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (GEHC – Free Report) recently used NVIDIA Corporation’s (NVDA – Free Report) technology to develop its recent research model, SonoSAMTrack. This builds upon its long-term artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration with NVDA.
SonoSAMTrack combines a promptable foundation model for segmenting objects on ultrasound images called SonoSAM.
The latest move is expected to strengthen GE HealthCare’s capabilities in advancing its AI capabilities and boost its business.
Significance of the Collaboration
Per GE HealthCare, leveraging AI to improve patient care, streamline operational efficiencies and make informed decisions has become increasingly important in healthcare. The traditional approach to integrating AI into healthcare systems requires the retraining of models to accommodate the unique requirements of different patient populations and hospital settings.
The conventional method could lead to heightened/increased costs, complexity and the need for specialized personnel. This, therefore, hindered the broad adoption of AI technologies in healthcare domains. However, foundation models have come to the forefront, driven by their ability to operate as human-in-the-loop AI systems. GE HealthCare believes that this has garnered significant attention.
GE HealthCare’s management aims to accelerate advancements in medical imaging by introducing foundational AI technologies. This will likely empower data scientists to expedite AI application development and help clinicians and enhance patient care. Management expects to adapt more efficiently to new tasks and medical imaging modalities, often requiring far less labeled data unlike the traditional model retraining approach by utilizing these versatile, generalist models. Per management, it is particularly significant in the healthcare domain, for which data is especially time-consuming and costly to obtain.
Per NVIDIA’s management, combining its accelerated computing and AI technology stack with GE HealthCare’s medical imaging expertise will likely help to enhance patient care by making ultrasound diagnostics quicker/faster and more accurate.
Industry Prospects
Per a report by Precedence Research, the global AI in the healthcare market was estimated at $15.1 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to surpass $187.95 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 37%. Factors like the growing adoption of digital technologies in the healthcare sector and the increased patient pool at hospitals are likely to drive the market.
Given the market potential, the latest step in the partnership is expected to provide a significant boost to GE HealthCare’s business globally.
Recent Developments in AI
This month, GE HealthCare announced plans to evolve its long-term AI partnership with Mass General Brigham’s commercial AI business, Mass General Brigham AI. Through the collaboration, the companies aim to integrate medical imaging foundation models into their AI research work, with a strong focus on responsible AI practices.
The same month, GE HealthCare announced its plans to showcase its portfolio of AI-enabled medical devices and digital solutions at the ongoing Health Information and Management Systems Society Global Health Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, FL.
Also, in March, the company announced the publication of data from a study of GE HealthCare AI models. The study collected clinical data to accurately predict the effectiveness and toxicity of cancer immunotherapy.
Comparison With Peers
Another renowned player in the broader MedTech space, which is solidifying its foothold in the AI arena, is Hologic, Inc. (HOLX – Free Report) . Last month, HOLX announced its plans to unveil new research in AI and offer innovative educational opportunities at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Austria, held between Feb 28 and Mar 2.
The same month, Hologic announced that its new Genius Digital Diagnostics System with the Genius Cervical AI algorithm has received clearance from the FDA. This makes it the first and only FDA-cleared digital cytology system that combines deep-learning-based AI with advanced volumetric imaging technology to help identify pre-cancerous lesions and cervical cancer cells.
Another notable player Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ – Free Report) wholly-owned subsidiary, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, announced that it is working to accelerate and scale AI for surgery with NVIDIA. The companies executed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate AI for JNJ MedTech’s extensive surgical technologies portfolio with NVIDIA’s AI platform for healthcare. The technologies are designed to allow for fast, secure and real-time AI deployment through Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s digital surgery ecosystem.
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