GE Healthcare Acquires BK Medical to Expand Ultrasound Portfolio into Surgical Visualization

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 30 Sep 2021

Image: GE Healthcare acquires BK Medical (Photo courtesy of GE Healthcare)

GE Healthcare (Chicago, IL, USA) has entered into an agreement to acquire BK Medical (Peabody, MA, USA) in a deal that is expected to create value by further strengthening BK, including through significant synergies with the benefit of GE’s technology and commercial scale.

BK Medical is an innovator in global intraoperative imaging and surgical navigation, used to guide clinicians during minimally invasive and robotic surgeries and to visualize deep tissue during procedures in neuro and abdominal surgery, and in ultrasound urology. The acquisition will enable BK Medical’s Active Imaging platform to reach new customers and new markets around the world, and the combination of GE Healthcare’s diagnostic imaging technology with BK’s ability to enable decision-making and surgical visualization in intervention will allow better decision-making throughout the care continuum.

“Ultrasound today forms an integral part of many care pathways, and BK Medical is a strategic and highly complementary addition to our growing and profitable Ultrasound business,” said GE Healthcare President and CEO Kieran Murphy. “This transaction helps GE Healthcare continue to expand beyond diagnostics into surgical and therapeutic interventions, simplifying decision-making for clinicians and equipping them with greater insights to deliver faster, more personalized care for their patients - representing another step toward delivering precision health.”

“We are immensely proud of the organization and of the life-changing technology that we have built at BK Medical, and look forward to our future as part of the GE Healthcare family,” said BK Medical President and CEO Brooks West. “Combining our expertise in intraoperative imaging and surgical navigation with GE Healthcare’s many strengths and global presence will accelerate our mission to change the standard of care in surgical interventions. Our mission to help surgeons make critical decisions using active imaging aligns well with GE Healthcare’s mission to help physicians make more informed decisions and improve patient outcomes, and we are eager to begin this new chapter.”

“Adding the fast-growing and relatively new field of real-time surgical visualization to GE’s pre- and post-operative Ultrasound capabilities will create an end-to-end offering through the full continuum of care - from diagnosis through therapy and beyond. GE Healthcare and BK Medical share a passion for clinical innovation, and I’m excited to welcome BK Medical to our team,” added GE Healthcare Ultrasound President and CEO Roland Rott.

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