Innovations like AI-informed cancer therapeutics, at-home heart monitors and one-stop clinics that provide same-day results are paving a roadmap to the future of medicine, which will be anchored by precision care.

“Precision care is the future of healthcare, but it is still a young discipline, and GE HealthCare is dedicated to driving its future,” says GE HealthCare CEO Peter Arduini. “When clinicians have the data they need at their fingertips to make more informed and targeted treatment decisions, they can plan more effective interventions that help improve patient outcomes.”

Modern precision care comprises many moving parts that require a strong foundation based on innovation and collaboration, says Arduini. These elements include clinician knowledge of individual patients, genomics, data analytics and the ability to translate it all into connected, personalized care that reaches the patient across many settings. “But it all rests on one foundation: the ability to capture precise images, analyze high-volume patient data and drive insights across a broad platform. GE HealthCare is that foundation,” he says.

From its origins inventing the first viable human X-ray in 1896 to its NASA-style clinical command centers today, GE HealthCare has more than 100 years of experience delivering high-impact innovations to help clinicians quickly and confidently provide the right diagnosis and treatment. The key element propelling GE HealthCare forward in today’s healthcare transformation is its dedication to personalized care and precision innovation. In 2021 alone, GE HealthCare invested approximately $1 billion in research and development, and it has committed to future R&D growth to accelerate its innovation pipeline.Now, as a standalone company, GE HealthCare will have greater focus on its purpose and more flexibility to deliver precision care and invest in growth, says Arduini. GE HealthCare’s strategy is grounded in driving industry-leading precision innovation; accelerating growth through product leadership and commercial execution; and optimizing its operating model through a simplified, decentralized structure.

Technology-driven innovation has the potential to improve every dimension of personalized patient-centric healthcare and create up to $410 billion in annual value by 2025, according to a 2019 McKinsey study. The study posits that realizing this value will require disruptors to take stock of the technologies available today, develop clear ways to demonstrate how these innovations create value and implement these technologies smoothly.

Maintaining health

One of the greatest potential benefits of precision care is keeping people healthy to minimize doctor’s visits. The proliferation of consumer wearables and other medical devices, combined with AI, is being leveraged to oversee early-stage heart disease and other chronic conditions. This shift from “sick care” to “well care” enables providers and clinicians to better monitor and detect potentially life-threatening conditions at earlier, more treatable stages.

One example of the hospital-to-home shift is a medical-grade six-lead wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) device, AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L, which helps patients measure their heart rhythm between appointments and feeds data into GE HealthCare’s cardiac management system, MUSE, used in 84% of cardiac hospitals in the US. As prescribed by their clinician, patients can take their own ECG at home or on the go with the KardiaMobile 6L device, which can detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) and other heart rhythm conditions. The output can seamlessly integrate with MUSE, allowing clinicians to analyze and act upon patient data within their existing workflow.

For the 37.5 million people worldwide diagnosed with AFib, which increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications, this home and on-the-go solution represents how innovation can empower patients to take a leading role in monitoring and addressing their health issues, contributing to fewer trips to the hospital.

Better patient experiences and outcomes

Mammograms are still the gold standard in breast cancer screening; however, the procedure involves compressing the breast between two clear plates, which can cause discomfort and pain for some women. Studies show that 25% of women skip their annual mammograms due to discomfort, anxiety and pain, deterring them from getting potentially lifesaving screenings.

GE HealthCare’s industry-first patient-assisted mammogram experience, the Senographe Pristina with Dueta™, aims to remove this deterrent to screening by allowing patients, with the help of a technologist, to set the compression that feels right for them. By improving patient comfort, technologists can focus on precise positioning, making the diagnostic process easier and faster.

AI is already being used to help detect diseases more accurately and in earlier stages, but it is also playing a role in patient experience. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is similarly a procedure where the experience can be a deterrent for up to 20% of patients; a 2019 study found that as many as 37% of patients reported experiencing an anxiety attack during an MRI. This is where AI-powered MRIs embedded with applications like AIR ™ Recon DL can improve patient experiences and outcomes. Used in the diagnosis of more than 5.5 million patients worldwide, the technology improves the signal-to-noise ratio of scans without compromising image quality. The result is a sharper, clearer image and the potential for up to a 50% reduction in scan time.

GE HealthCare 2022