[RSNA 2024] GE HealthCare International charts path to accessible healthcare through innovation and partnerships < Special < Article

CHICAGO, Ill. — By Lee Han-soo/Korea Biomedical correspondent — GE HealthCare unveiled more than 40 groundbreaking innovations at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago from Dec. 1-4, showcasing its comprehensive strategy to transform healthcare delivery through AI integration and digital solutions.

The company’s extensive showcase highlighted solutions designed to address critical healthcare challenges, including clinical staff burnout and the increasing demand for precision medicine.

Among the key innovations were Clarify DL for enhanced bone SPECT imaging, the Aurora dual-head SPECT/CT system, and CareIntellect for Oncology, a new cloud-based application leveraging generative AI to streamline oncology workflows.

Korea Biomedical Review met with Mark Stoesz, President of Enterprise Solutions at GE HealthCare International, who outlined the company’s ambitious vision for revolutionizing healthcare delivery across global markets, revealing detailed insights into technological innovation, market strategies, and the company’s commitment to addressing healthcare disparities worldwide.

Stoesz, who oversees enterprise solutions and partnerships for markets outside the US, Canada, and China, emphasized that the foundation of healthcare innovation lies in understanding local needs.

“It starts with collaboration, partnerships, and listening to our customers,” he said. “When we listen to the customers, we understand the unsolved needs of what they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis.”

 

Innovations at RSNA

At the recent RSNA conference, GE HealthCare’s unveiling of over 40 innovations showcased the company’s broad technological capabilities.

Notably, Stoesz’s enthusiasm was particularly evident when discussing the company’s advances in magnetic resonance imaging technology.

“As an MR guy at heart and a neuroscience specialist, I think the SIGNA MAGNUS solution is particularly exciting,” he said. “When you think about where we’re going in neurodegenerative disease, traumatic brain injury, and other types of really interesting areas, allowing us to look at the microstructures of the brain in real finite details.”

This combination of high gradient strength and rapid field manipulation allows clinicians to observe subtle changes in brain tissue that might indicate early stages of neurodegenerative diseases or the effects of traumatic brain injury, he added.

Beyond neuroimaging, Stoesz expressed particular enthusiasm for GE Healthcare’s advances in oncology solutions.

“Our new oncology solutions are also going to be changing the way in which we manage patient care,” he said.

He highlighted the company’s CareIntellect solution, which represents a significant advancement in patient care management through generative AI implementation.

“CareIntellect allows us to very quickly understand and interpret what’s happened with that patient,” Stoesz said. “Whether we’re looking at the blood information, whether we look at the latest PET CT or the latest MR or CT results, we can understand if maybe this treatment is the wrong course of treatment for the patient.”

Stoesz also highlighted the company’s progress in theranostics, an emerging field that combines therapeutics and diagnostics.

“I think this solution will be very helpful as we go forward in improving personalized and precision medicine,” he said.

Stoesz stressed that the recent acquisition of MIM software has enhanced GE Healthcare’s capabilities in this area.

The integration of these technologies demonstrates GE Healthcare’s comprehensive approach to precision medicine.

With over 80 FDA-cleared AI tools, the company is positioned at the forefront of medical technology innovation.

As Stoesz explained, “When you think about our position today with over 80 FDA cleared AI tools, it is an example of where our thought process is, what we’ve done to develop and grow in R&D in these spaces as well.”

 

Asia-Pacific market strategy

During the interview, Stoesz also stressed that the Asia-Pacific region represents a key growth market for GE HealthCare, encompassing both highly advanced healthcare systems and emerging markets with significant development potential.

This diversity presents unique opportunities and challenges that the company is addressing through a carefully crafted regional strategy.

“When I look at APAC, you have Korea and Japan, which are extremely advanced,” Stoesz explained.

In more advanced markets like Korea, GE HealthCare has established strong partnerships with leading technology companies.

“We have partnerships with Lunit and Beamworks,” Stoesz noted.

His enthusiasm for Korean AI companies was particularly evident.

“I’m very interested to work with Korean AI companies,” he said. “For us, this is a great opportunity as Korea has some very good talent and part of our strategy is to take and leverage those skill sets to advance the technology and capabilities in places like Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, where we don’t have the same level of care and infrastructure built.”

The company’s recent launch of an Innovation Training Center in Jakarta, Indonesia, exemplifies this strategic approach.

Set to begin its first training programs in February 2025, the center represents a significant investment in regional healthcare development.

“We’re really focused on building sustainability and education training,” Stoesz emphasized. “The center will work in partnerships with key schools around the region to help educate not just on the device but also the clinical path directions.”

This focus on sustainability extends beyond mere equipment placement.

“If you don’t have a trained technologist, a trained nurse to deliver care, or a trained clinician to go into more advanced technologies, how do you plan to keep growing in this space?” Stoesz questioned. “Our goal is to work within our countries and support them by giving them access to education, understanding the latest technologies, and giving them the right tools based on the market fit and market needs.”

The company’s regional strategy also acknowledges the evolving nature of healthcare systems across different markets.

“In some advanced markets, we may have enough equipment and then the question becomes do we have the right equipment,” Stoesz said.

He noted that technological advances might change traditional equipment needs, citing how improvements in MR imaging speed could potentially reduce the number of scanners needed in some facilities.

For emerging markets like Vietnam and the Philippines, the approach differs.

“They’re really on the emergence span,” Stoesz noted. “I think we need to look at those a little bit differently, and yet the tools can be very similar but used in a different way.”

The challenge, according to Stoesz, lies in balancing advanced capabilities with economic realities. “Without good economic outcomes, you’re going to stop providing that service,” he emphasized. This understanding has led GE Healthcare to develop innovative approaches to technology deployment in these markets. For instance, instead of following the traditional pattern of multiple imaging modalities in sequence – from X-ray to ultrasound to CT to MR – the company is exploring ways to optimize the diagnostic pathway.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine across the Asia-Pacific region, which Stoesz sees as a significant opportunity.

“We’re introducing new technologies for remote scanning, which can be valuable to certain regions,” he said. “We have a lot of expertise, and the question is how we can use that expertise in one country to support another.”

Looking ahead, GE HealthCare’s mission of creating a world where healthcare has no limits seems more achievable than ever. Through its extensive lineup of innovations, strategic initiatives across different markets, and commitment to sustainable development, the company is working to transform global healthcare delivery.

As Stoesz emphasized throughout the interview, success in this mission requires not just technological innovation, but also a deep understanding of local healthcare needs, strong partnerships, and a commitment to making advanced healthcare solutions accessible to all.