GE HealthCare’s (GEHC) Voluson to Aid Women’s Health Imaging – April 19, 2024
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (GEHC – Free Report) recently announced the launch of the Voluson Signature 20 and 18 ultrasound systems, which fully integrate artificial intelligence (AI), cutting-edge tools, and an ergonomic design to speed up exam times for clinicians while providing a clearer picture of various conditions impacting women’s health.
The latest technologies can help professionals feel more confident in their diagnosis and treatment decisions, benefiting from the combination of high-performance hardware and adaptable, scalable software.
Price Performance
In the past six months, GEHC shares have gained 29.8% compared with the industry’s rise of 8.9%. The S&P 500 has gained 17.3% in the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
More on the Launch
Presently, there is a rise in health complexities, particularly in women who experience pregnancy-related complications and other conditions affecting the female reproductive system. Meanwhile, health systems continue to face significant obstacles in their attempts to meet these needs due to a lack of workforce.
To help address patient demand and reduce staffing burdens, clinicians across the board need tools, including innovative AI-enabled ultrasound technologies, that support a clear, quick, and confident diagnosis.
These most recent offerings expand upon GE HealthCare’s Voluson portfolio, which combines a long history of innovation to provide remarkable picture quality, cutting-edge clinical tools, and intelligent workflow to support effective, high-quality care.
The latest AI-powered capabilities on the Volusion Signature 20 and 18 enable a number of efficiencies across women’s healthcare settings, such as the new “Hey Voluson” feature allows users to operate the system using voice commands, which saves time and keystrokes.
The International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) second trimester exam completion time can be lowered by up to 40% with the use of SonoLyst, a suite of tools that uses AI to identify fetal anatomy seen on standard views, and then automatically annotates and measures where applicable.
Another capability of the Voluson System, SonoPelvicFloor, automates plane alignment and measurements, reducing keystrokes by up to 76% while streamlining pelvic floor evaluations and expediting exams. Fibroid Mapping maps, measures, and categorizes fibroids using AI to standardize and accelerate fibroid documentation.
FetalHS uses AI to provide step-by-step guidance to help identify normal fetal heart anatomy, which simplifies and expedites fetal heart exams by up to 48%. Additionally, the new Voluson Signature systems may now be used with a flexible wireless workflow thanks to the inclusion of the cable-free Vscan Air CL wireless dual probe. This allows for a broader range of motion.
Industry Prospects
Per a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global AI in healthcare market size is valued at $20.9 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $148.4 billion by 2029 at a growth rate of 48.1%.
Growth of AI in the healthcare market is driven by the generation of large and complex healthcare datasets, the pressing need to reduce healthcare costs, improving computing power and declining hardware costs, and the rising number of partnerships among different domains in the healthcare sector.
Given the market potential of AI in healthcare, GE Healthcare’s AI-enabled Ultrasound systems are likely to boost its business and increase revenues.
Notable Developments
GE HealthCare recently 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 company also announced the publication of data that depicts its AI models’ ability to accurately predict patient responses to immunotherapies. The study collected clinical data to accurately predict the effectiveness and toxicity of cancer immunotherapy. A pan-cancer sample’s data revealed that the company’s AI models’ accuracy ranged from 70% to 80%.
GE HealthCarerecently used NVIDIAtechnology to develop its recent research model, SonoSAMTrack. This builds upon its long-term AI collaboration with NVIDIA. SonoSAMTrack combines a promptable foundation model for segmenting objects on ultrasound images called SonoSAM.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
GEHC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are DaVita Inc. (DVA – Free Report) , Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH – Free Report) and Cencora, Inc. (COR – Free Report) .
DaVita, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has an estimated long-term growth rate of 12.1%. DVA’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 35.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
DaVita’s shares have gained 58.3% compared with the industry’s 18.9% rise in the past year.
Cardinal Health, flaunting a Zacks Rank of 1 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 14.2%. CAH’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average being 15.6%.
Cardinal Health has gained 51.9% compared with the industry’s 3.2% rise in the past year.
Cencora, carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 9.8%. COR’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 6.7%.
Cencora’s shares have rallied 51.5% compared with the industry’s 3.6% rise in the past year.
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