Earlier this month interventional augmented reality start-up MediView XR secured $15m in strategic funding from a number of well-respected backers, including GE HealthCare, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, among others.
MediView’s solutions combine surgical navigation with augmented reality, to give surgeons what it calls “3D X-ray vision”, in a bid to equip them with greater surgical visualisation and navigation tools, and ultimately offer better care. In addition, the vendor says the tools can also facilitate remote collaboration, and in doing so, improve access to care in underserved populations.
MediView has now raised approximately $29.5m in funding. With its latest funding it plans to continue to establish and expand its multi-tier platform. This, it says, includes generating additional clinical evidence, developing products and achieving milestones in intellectual property, regulation, commercialisation and product launches
GE HealthCare has recently announced that it is planning to form a new joint venture with the China National Medical Device Corporation. The Chinese National Medical Device Corporation is part of Sinopharm, China’s state-owned healthcare corporation, which has enjoyed a partnership with GE for more than 30 years.
The new agreement, which is in addition to a ongoing joint venture relationship, will be focused on medical imaging, and will seek to develop, manufacture and commercialise imaging equipment in a bid to meet growing demand in the country. According to a filing by the American firm, the initial focus of the joint venture will be non-premium CT systems and general ultrasound solutions aimed at primary care and rural health markets however, this scope could grow as the venture develops.
The march of digital pathology into enterprise imaging has continued with the news that Canon Medical has partnered with Tribun Health.
The agreement will see Canon add Tribun’s digital pathology capabilities to the Japanese vendor’s enterprise imaging roadmap, enabling it to offer providers solutions across a growing number of departments, including radiology, cardiology, endoscopy and pathology. It also illustrates the growing importance of digital pathology to informatics vendors. With Canon becoming just the latest example of a large international imaging vendor to announce a deal with a digital pathology specialist, eagerly following in the footsteps of Siemens Healthineers, Fujifilm and GE HealthCare. While Fujifilm decided to acquire Inspirata and Siemens chose the partnership route with Proscia. GE HealthCare also chose the partnership route, also with Tribun, adding an interesting dynamic to Canon’s announcement.
As medical imaging vendors headed into 2023, there was considerable change afoot. Aside from the broader healthcare challenges that beset providers such as a shortage of physicians, staff burnout and the backlog of elective procedures resulting from the Covid pandemic, vendors also had their own specific strategic goals.
For some, this meant difficult times ahead, with sizable staff lay-offs; for others the focus was on new opportunities, with GE HealthCare spinning out of the broader GE conglomerate; others still had to address challenges beyond their control, with supply chain and logistics issues all playing their part. Despite these differing priorities, vendors’ financial performances were, overall, positive in Q4 2022, albeit with some very dark clouds on the horizon.
GE HealthCare has continued to make headlines after spinning out from the broader GE umbrella, making its second acquisition in as many months with a deal for Caption Health.
The move follows GE HealthCare’s January acquisition of Imactis, and sees the healthcare giant pick up one of the better established ultrasound AI vendors. Caption Health specialises in offering ultrasound guidance AI solutions, allowing less experienced users to conduct ultrasound imaging exams.
Given the ability of Caption Health’s solutions to facilitate the use of ultrasound by novice users, GE will first roll out the tool to its point of care and handheld ranges, but there are also opportunities across its portfolio.
