Guerbet is expanding its efforts in medical imaging AI, with the announcement that it is taking a 39% stake in imaging software specialist Intrasense, with a future option of acquiring the French company.
The move grants Guerbet access to its investee’s AI platform and Advanced Visualisation (AV) tools, as well as Intrasense’s staff. This will help Guerbet bring its own AI tools, the solutions is has acquired from its partnership with Merative (formerly IBM), into clinical use, while also granting the smaller vendor access to Guerbet’s sizable customer base, helping the software specialist to scale.
Guerbet’s decision emphasises the fact that contrast agent manufacturers could become one of the most powerful forces in the uptake of medical imaging AI. But how does the French vendor’s move compare to that of its German competitor Bayer, which has also recently made a platform push with its acquisition of Blackford Analysis.
Bayer, a vendor best known in radiology as a supplier of contrast agents, has revealed further intentions on medical imaging AI with the purchase of platform provider Blackford Analysis. The German firm’s announcement follows its entry into the AI platform space last year with the launch of Calantic, itself developed in conjunction with Blackford.
Bayer and Blackford have an established history together, with Blackford also being part of the larger vendor’s G4A Incubator programme in 2019. Despite this heritage, Bayer has said it will allow Blackford to continue to operate relatively independently, at ‘arm’s length’ from its parent company, while Bayer continues to offer its own Calantic platform.
