GE Medical Systems Acquires Medical Imaging Firm

GE Medical Systems (Waukesha, WI) has acquired Applicare Medical Imaging. Based in Zeist, The Netherlands, Applicare designs and produces PC/NT-based systems for picture archiving (PACS) and tele-radiology. PACS allow medical providers to electronically archive, display, and transmit images created by ultrasound, magnetic resonance, computed tomography, x-ray, and other imaging devices throughout a networked health care system, according to GE Medical.

"The addition of Applicare Medical Imaging significantly accelerates GE's ability to better serve doctors and their patients with cost-effective productivity tools to increase the speed of health care delivery, enable remote diagnosis via the Internet, and eliminate quality problems that result from lost or damaged paper and film files in the hospital," said Jeffrey Immelt, president and CEO of GE Medical Systems in a press release.

As part of the transaction, GE Medical will continue an Applicare contract to supply state-of-the-art components to IBM as part of a PACS project with the U.S. government. Applicare will continue to supply PACS components through its existing OEM channels, according to GE Medical.

Analysts estimate that the market for systems that archive and transmit electronic medical images and information will grow at approximately 20% per year, GE Medical says.

Financial terms of the transaction were not released.