GE Healthcare
Encyclopedia
GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure
, which is itself a division of General Electric
(GE). It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont
, Buckinghamshire
, United Kingdom
. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered outside the United States. In 2004, just before the completion of the $9 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Amersham plc
, the formerly named GE Medical Systems was renamed GE Healthcare.
Victor Electric plunged into the x-ray
business and by 1896 (one year after Roentgen’s discovery) were making x-ray
machines. The business grew rapidly and so, in 1896, moved into new premises three times the original size, but this did not solve the space problems and the company made 3 moves by 1899.
Victor Electric had competitors. In 1896 a G.A.Frye began making x-ray tubes and in 1897, that business was purchased by Swett & Lewis, and the first merger in the x-ray business had started.
and bought two floors of a building at 55 Market Street, Chicago
. This was again only a temporary stop; by 1910 it was too small and the firm moved again in 1911 to a building at the corner of Jackson Blvd. and Damen Avenue. This was the first permanent home of Victor Electric Co. They stayed there 35 years and during this time, gradually acquired all the space in the building and several around it.
During the first 20 years of the x-ray business, many new names appeared. In 1901 the Western Electric Coil Co. was formed. In 1902 MacAlaster & Wiggin purchased the x-ray tube
business of Swett & Lewis. Two other companies were the Radio Electric Co., which was later to be known as Snook-Roentgen Manufacturing and the Scheidel Western X-Ray Coil Co.
In 1916, the first significant merger took place, Scheidel Western, Snook-Roentgen, MacAlaster & Wiggin, and Victor Electric Co. were merged with Victor, the surviving name. Victor’s two founders had key roles in the new firm; C.F.Samms was president and J.B.Wantz was Vice-President of manufacturing and engineering.
Four years later, in 1920, a second major merger was accomplished as Victor was partially acquired by General Electric which was, at that time, the foremost manufacturer of x-ray tubes.
The marriage of Victor Electric and General Electric became complete of July 28, 1926 when Victor was declared a wholly owned affiliate of General Electric. The merger brought renewed vitality to the organization and Victor entered the foreign market with equipment sold and serviced in nearly 70 countries. In 1930, the name was changed from Victor to General Electric
X-Ray Corporation.
World War II
saw the dramatic use of x-rays in industry for non-destructive testing of war materials. It also saw the broad use of x-rays as a medical tool for military services.
As the war ended, GE X-Ray Corporation’s growth did not; it soon became evident that more space was needed and it was time to leave Jackson Blvd. Chicago. In Milwaukee was a 43 acres (174,015 m²) site which had been used for building turbochargers during the war. The street in front was renamed Electric Avenue, and the General Electric X-Ray Corporation had a new home in 1947.
In 1951, the corporate structure was dissolved and the name changed to General Electric x-Ray Department. This new name lasted less than 10 years as the department divested itself of its industrial x-ray business, widened its medical business, and took on the name of GE Medical Systems Department. One of the reasons for the name of Medical Systems was due to the increase in the electro-medical business, which began in 1961 with the introduction of patient monitoring equipment. By 1967 modular equipment was developed which was soon popular in cardiac and intensive care units. Early in 1960, pacemakers were developed in Corporate Research & Development in Schenectady, and in 1969 the Standby Pacemaker was developed.
In 1968, the Biomedical Business Section opened its first factory in Edgerton Avenue. Late in 1970 a surgical package was introduced and in 1971, equipment to monitor blood gasses during surgery was introduced.
Later in 1971, Biomedical opened a 9,000 square meter admin and engineering building opposite its factory and in 1972, the section was renamed The cardio-Surgical Product Section. With the growth of its medical business, the General Electric Company upgraded the department to The Medical Systems Division in 1971. Also in 1971, a major expansion programme was started and the Waukesha factory was planned. Work started in July 1972, and was completed in 1973.
In 1973, work on CT
was started and eventually the first CT
was installed in 1976, and development went on to the first CT 8800, and after long negotiations, the medical division of EMI
was acquired in late 1980.
The Americal Anti-Trust Authorities stopped the takeover in the USA however, and the EMI
factory in Chicago was bought up by Omni-Medical, who continued to make CT
s for a number of years.
Meanwhile, back at GE, the patient Monitoring Dept. was sold off in 1981. The initial boost provided by the EMI takeover turned into the doldrums as Reaganomics
sent the US dollar soaring, so in 1984 GE bought a 49% share of YMS (Yokogawa Medical Systems) a Japanese company.
YMS proceeded to produce high quality low cost diagnostic equipment for the world market with astounding energy, producing new CT
models with a speed that was and is hard to match.
In 1983 GE Medical started investing heavily in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MR) technology, investing nearly 1 billion US dollars in a new plant in Waukesha, and the MR Signa was born, which would go on to become the very successful MR model range. The magnet plant in Florence (USA) was opened a short time later, giving GE its own magnet production.
In 1985 GE acquired Technicare
from Johnson and Johnson.
Originally named Ohio Nuclear, and in 1979, after another fusion, Ohio Nuclear Unirad, the name was changed to Technicare in 1982. Technicare (with headquarters in Cleveland Ohio) had been producing a range of rotate-stationary CT
s with an installed base in the thousands, as well as some x-ray diagnostic equipment and a nascent MR
product range.
Up to this time the medical Systems Division had simply been divided into domestic and international, but in 1987 it was decided to re-organize into the three “poles” of America, Europe and Pacific. In 1988 GE Medical Europe merged with CGR (a medical equipment supplier based in France) to form General Electric CGR Medical Systems. The European headquarters were moved from Hammersmith
(UK) to Buc
near Paris.
In 1992, GE had a setback after long negotiations to buy Picker International, who were a major producer of CT and MR equipment, The deal was not approved by the American authorities, and so GE just bought the Picker Service organization in the U.K., leaving the rest of Picker intact.
In 1994 it was decided to change the name in Europe from GE-CGR back to General Electric Medical Systems. At the close of 1998 GE Medical acquired the Nuclear and MR businesses of Elscint
, (then a division of Elron
, based in Haifa, Israel), the CT business being bought by Picker, and in the same year Marquette
Medical Systems became a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Medical. In 1998 GE medical bought Diasonics Vingmed Ltd. from Elbit Medical Imaging (of Haifa
, Israel), thus expanding its ultrasound imaging business.
(EBT) scanner that performs imaging applications used by physicians specializing in cardiology, pulmonology and gastroenterology. The formal Imatron business was later incorporated into GE Healthcare's Diagnostic Imaging business segment. In early 2002, GE Healthcare had acquired MedicaLogic (creator of the former Logician, an ambulatory Electronic Medical Records system) for approximately $32 million. By Jan 2003, GE acquired Millbrook Corporation, maker of Millbrook Practice Manager, a billing and scheduling system for doctors offices. GE Healthcare IT would later merge the two products into a single PM/EMR solution, although the stand-alone EMR product is still available and in development. Also in 2003, GE Healthcare acquired Instrumentarium (including its Datex-Ohmeda division), a producer, manufacturer, and supplier of anesthesia machines and mechanical ventilators. To satisfy regulatory concerns in the United States and in Europe, GE Healthcare was forced to divest the Spacelabs
Medical division of Instrumentarium. Currently, GE Healthcare owns 80% of all anesthesia machines in the United States and 60% of the machines in the world. The former Instrumentarium business was incorporated into GE Healthcare's Clinical Systems business segment.
In 2004, the former Amersham plc
business segments were separated into the GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics and Life Sciences business segments. Also in 2004, GE Healthcare along with other healthcare companies built a research reactor for neutron and unit cell research at GE's European Research Center near Garching (outside of Munich
), Germany
. It is the only such reactor currently in operation. In 2005, Sir William Castell, CEO of GE Healthcare and former CEO of Amersham plc
stepped down as CEO to become Chairman of the Wellcome Trust
-- a charity that fosters and promotes human and animal research—in the United Kingdom. Former GE Medical Systems CEO Joe Hogan became the overall CEO for the GE Healthcare business. In 2005, Dental Imaging operations were separated from GE Healthcare. The PaloDEx Group Oy was founded and continues the business with its subsidiaries Instrumentarium Dental and SOREDEX. Specifically, Instrumentarium Dental continues the brands Orthopantomograph and intraoral systems FOCUS and SIGMA, formerly known as Instrumentarium Imaging or GE Healthcare products. In September 2005, GE Healthcare and IDX Systems Corporation announced that they entered into a definitive, $1.2 billion merger agreement for GE to acquire IDX, a leading healthcare information technology (IT) provider. The acquisition was completed in January 2006. IDX was folded into GE Healthcare Integrated IT Solutions, which specializes in clinical information systems and healthcare revenue management.
On 4 February 2008, GE Healthcare announced that it has completed the acquisition of Whatman plc (LSE:WHM) , a global supplier of filtration products and technologies at 270p per share in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately $713 million.) In July 2008, Joseph Hogan announced his intent to leave his post as CEO of GE Healthcare to take the role of CEO at ABB. On July 17, 2008, GE Healthcare announced John Dineen had been chosen to replace outgoing CEO Joseph Hogan. Mr. Dineen had been head of GE's Transportation division since 2005. On March 24, 2010, GE Healthcare announced acquisition of MedPlexus In late April, 2010, GE Healthcare announced it was investing €3 million in the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre (TRIL). The Irish centre seeks to enhance independence for elderly people through technological innovation.
. Those business segment names and organizations were formally dropped in June 2005.
While it has offices around the globe, GE Healthcare has major regional operations in Buc (suburb of Paris
), France
; Helsinki
, Finland
; Budaors(suburb of Budapest
), Hungary
; Yizhuang
(suburb of Beijing
), China
; Hino
& Tokyo
, Japan
and Bangalore
, India
.
Its biggest R&D centre is in Bangalore, India, built at a cost of $50 million.
GE Technology Infrastructure
GE Technology Infrastructure is a business group of General Electric composed of three GE companies: GE Aviation, GE Healthcare, and GE Transportation. John G. Rice is president and CEO. A company-wide reorganization prompted by staggering financial losses led to the unit's formation in 2008 from...
, which is itself a division of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
(GE). It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in a small group of villages called The Chalfonts which also consists of Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered outside the United States. In 2004, just before the completion of the $9 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Amersham plc
Amersham plc
Amersham plc was a UK pharmaceutical company, specializing in medical diagnostics and life science products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by General Electric; it is now part of GE Healthcare.-History:The company had...
, the formerly named GE Medical Systems was renamed GE Healthcare.
19th century
In 1893 C.F. Samms and J.B. Wantz were making dental engines and beer pumps, and by October 1895 had a staff of 6 in a 30 square meter basement and a capital of $3,000 invested in Victor Electric Co.Victor Electric plunged into the x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
business and by 1896 (one year after Roentgen’s discovery) were making x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
machines. The business grew rapidly and so, in 1896, moved into new premises three times the original size, but this did not solve the space problems and the company made 3 moves by 1899.
Victor Electric had competitors. In 1896 a G.A.Frye began making x-ray tubes and in 1897, that business was purchased by Swett & Lewis, and the first merger in the x-ray business had started.
20th century
During the first years, it was easier to keep up with the competition than space requirements. By 1903, Victor Electric had outgrown its facilities at 418 Dearborn St. in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and bought two floors of a building at 55 Market Street, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. This was again only a temporary stop; by 1910 it was too small and the firm moved again in 1911 to a building at the corner of Jackson Blvd. and Damen Avenue. This was the first permanent home of Victor Electric Co. They stayed there 35 years and during this time, gradually acquired all the space in the building and several around it.
During the first 20 years of the x-ray business, many new names appeared. In 1901 the Western Electric Coil Co. was formed. In 1902 MacAlaster & Wiggin purchased the x-ray tube
X-ray tube
An X-ray tube is a vacuum tube that produces X-rays. They are used in X-ray machines. X-rays are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, an ionizing radiation with wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet light...
business of Swett & Lewis. Two other companies were the Radio Electric Co., which was later to be known as Snook-Roentgen Manufacturing and the Scheidel Western X-Ray Coil Co.
In 1916, the first significant merger took place, Scheidel Western, Snook-Roentgen, MacAlaster & Wiggin, and Victor Electric Co. were merged with Victor, the surviving name. Victor’s two founders had key roles in the new firm; C.F.Samms was president and J.B.Wantz was Vice-President of manufacturing and engineering.
Four years later, in 1920, a second major merger was accomplished as Victor was partially acquired by General Electric which was, at that time, the foremost manufacturer of x-ray tubes.
The marriage of Victor Electric and General Electric became complete of July 28, 1926 when Victor was declared a wholly owned affiliate of General Electric. The merger brought renewed vitality to the organization and Victor entered the foreign market with equipment sold and serviced in nearly 70 countries. In 1930, the name was changed from Victor to General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
X-Ray Corporation.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
saw the dramatic use of x-rays in industry for non-destructive testing of war materials. It also saw the broad use of x-rays as a medical tool for military services.
As the war ended, GE X-Ray Corporation’s growth did not; it soon became evident that more space was needed and it was time to leave Jackson Blvd. Chicago. In Milwaukee was a 43 acres (174,015 m²) site which had been used for building turbochargers during the war. The street in front was renamed Electric Avenue, and the General Electric X-Ray Corporation had a new home in 1947.
In 1951, the corporate structure was dissolved and the name changed to General Electric x-Ray Department. This new name lasted less than 10 years as the department divested itself of its industrial x-ray business, widened its medical business, and took on the name of GE Medical Systems Department. One of the reasons for the name of Medical Systems was due to the increase in the electro-medical business, which began in 1961 with the introduction of patient monitoring equipment. By 1967 modular equipment was developed which was soon popular in cardiac and intensive care units. Early in 1960, pacemakers were developed in Corporate Research & Development in Schenectady, and in 1969 the Standby Pacemaker was developed.
In 1968, the Biomedical Business Section opened its first factory in Edgerton Avenue. Late in 1970 a surgical package was introduced and in 1971, equipment to monitor blood gasses during surgery was introduced.
Later in 1971, Biomedical opened a 9,000 square meter admin and engineering building opposite its factory and in 1972, the section was renamed The cardio-Surgical Product Section. With the growth of its medical business, the General Electric Company upgraded the department to The Medical Systems Division in 1971. Also in 1971, a major expansion programme was started and the Waukesha factory was planned. Work started in July 1972, and was completed in 1973.
In 1973, work on CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
was started and eventually the first CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
was installed in 1976, and development went on to the first CT 8800, and after long negotiations, the medical division of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
was acquired in late 1980.
The Americal Anti-Trust Authorities stopped the takeover in the USA however, and the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
factory in Chicago was bought up by Omni-Medical, who continued to make CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
s for a number of years.
Meanwhile, back at GE, the patient Monitoring Dept. was sold off in 1981. The initial boost provided by the EMI takeover turned into the doldrums as Reaganomics
Reaganomics
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies promoted by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s, also known as supply-side economics and called trickle-down economics, particularly by critics...
sent the US dollar soaring, so in 1984 GE bought a 49% share of YMS (Yokogawa Medical Systems) a Japanese company.
YMS proceeded to produce high quality low cost diagnostic equipment for the world market with astounding energy, producing new CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
models with a speed that was and is hard to match.
In 1983 GE Medical started investing heavily in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
(MR) technology, investing nearly 1 billion US dollars in a new plant in Waukesha, and the MR Signa was born, which would go on to become the very successful MR model range. The magnet plant in Florence (USA) was opened a short time later, giving GE its own magnet production.
In 1985 GE acquired Technicare
Technicare
Technicare, formerly known as Ohio Nuclear, was a maker of CT, DR and MRI scanners and other medical imaging equipment. Its headquarters was in Solon, Ohio. Originally an independent company, it was later purchased by Johnson & Johnson. At the time, Invacare was also owned by Technicare...
from Johnson and Johnson.
Originally named Ohio Nuclear, and in 1979, after another fusion, Ohio Nuclear Unirad, the name was changed to Technicare in 1982. Technicare (with headquarters in Cleveland Ohio) had been producing a range of rotate-stationary CT
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
s with an installed base in the thousands, as well as some x-ray diagnostic equipment and a nascent MR
MR
MR, Mr, mr, or mR may refer to:*Mr. an honorific title of menPlaces:* Morocco country code * Martinique country code...
product range.
Up to this time the medical Systems Division had simply been divided into domestic and international, but in 1987 it was decided to re-organize into the three “poles” of America, Europe and Pacific. In 1988 GE Medical Europe merged with CGR (a medical equipment supplier based in France) to form General Electric CGR Medical Systems. The European headquarters were moved from Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
(UK) to Buc
Buc
Buc may refer to:* Buc, Yvelines, a commune of the Yvelines département, in France* Buc, Territoire de Belfort, a commune of the Territoire de Belfort département, in France* Búč, a village in south Slovakia* buc, the ISO 639-3 code for the Bushi language...
near Paris.
In 1992, GE had a setback after long negotiations to buy Picker International, who were a major producer of CT and MR equipment, The deal was not approved by the American authorities, and so GE just bought the Picker Service organization in the U.K., leaving the rest of Picker intact.
In 1994 it was decided to change the name in Europe from GE-CGR back to General Electric Medical Systems. At the close of 1998 GE Medical acquired the Nuclear and MR businesses of Elscint
Elscint
Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging solutions, including: Nuclear medicine, computed tomography magnetic resonance imaging and X-ray scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. At its...
, (then a division of Elron
Elron Electronic Industries
Elron Electronic Industries is a technology holding company based in Haifa Israel; since 1962 the company has been involved in setting-up, funding and developing over 30 companies and is considered one of the foundation stones of the high-tech industry in Israel...
, based in Haifa, Israel), the CT business being bought by Picker, and in the same year Marquette
Marquette
-Locations:United States*Marquette, Iowa*Marquette, Kansas*Marquette, Michigan**Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette*Marquette, Nebraska*Marquette , Wisconsin**Marquette, Wisconsin, village within the town*Marquette County, Michigan...
Medical Systems became a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Medical. In 1998 GE medical bought Diasonics Vingmed Ltd. from Elbit Medical Imaging (of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel), thus expanding its ultrasound imaging business.
21st century
In 2001, GE Medical Systems acquired San Francisco, CA based CT maker Imatron, Inc for $210 million. Imatron produced an Electron beam tomographyElectron beam tomography
Electron beam tomography , now owned by the General Electric company , is a specific form of computed tomography in which the X-ray tube is not mechanically spun in order to rotate the source of X-ray photons...
(EBT) scanner that performs imaging applications used by physicians specializing in cardiology, pulmonology and gastroenterology. The formal Imatron business was later incorporated into GE Healthcare's Diagnostic Imaging business segment. In early 2002, GE Healthcare had acquired MedicaLogic (creator of the former Logician, an ambulatory Electronic Medical Records system) for approximately $32 million. By Jan 2003, GE acquired Millbrook Corporation, maker of Millbrook Practice Manager, a billing and scheduling system for doctors offices. GE Healthcare IT would later merge the two products into a single PM/EMR solution, although the stand-alone EMR product is still available and in development. Also in 2003, GE Healthcare acquired Instrumentarium (including its Datex-Ohmeda division), a producer, manufacturer, and supplier of anesthesia machines and mechanical ventilators. To satisfy regulatory concerns in the United States and in Europe, GE Healthcare was forced to divest the Spacelabs
Spacelabs Healthcare
Spacelabs Healthcare, is a wholly owned subsidiary of OSI Systems of Hawthorne, California, which manufactures and distributes medical equipment....
Medical division of Instrumentarium. Currently, GE Healthcare owns 80% of all anesthesia machines in the United States and 60% of the machines in the world. The former Instrumentarium business was incorporated into GE Healthcare's Clinical Systems business segment.
In 2004, the former Amersham plc
Amersham plc
Amersham plc was a UK pharmaceutical company, specializing in medical diagnostics and life science products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by General Electric; it is now part of GE Healthcare.-History:The company had...
business segments were separated into the GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics and Life Sciences business segments. Also in 2004, GE Healthcare along with other healthcare companies built a research reactor for neutron and unit cell research at GE's European Research Center near Garching (outside of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
), Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is the only such reactor currently in operation. In 2005, Sir William Castell, CEO of GE Healthcare and former CEO of Amersham plc
Amersham plc
Amersham plc was a UK pharmaceutical company, specializing in medical diagnostics and life science products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by General Electric; it is now part of GE Healthcare.-History:The company had...
stepped down as CEO to become Chairman of the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
-- a charity that fosters and promotes human and animal research—in the United Kingdom. Former GE Medical Systems CEO Joe Hogan became the overall CEO for the GE Healthcare business. In 2005, Dental Imaging operations were separated from GE Healthcare. The PaloDEx Group Oy was founded and continues the business with its subsidiaries Instrumentarium Dental and SOREDEX. Specifically, Instrumentarium Dental continues the brands Orthopantomograph and intraoral systems FOCUS and SIGMA, formerly known as Instrumentarium Imaging or GE Healthcare products. In September 2005, GE Healthcare and IDX Systems Corporation announced that they entered into a definitive, $1.2 billion merger agreement for GE to acquire IDX, a leading healthcare information technology (IT) provider. The acquisition was completed in January 2006. IDX was folded into GE Healthcare Integrated IT Solutions, which specializes in clinical information systems and healthcare revenue management.
On 4 February 2008, GE Healthcare announced that it has completed the acquisition of Whatman plc (LSE:WHM) , a global supplier of filtration products and technologies at 270p per share in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately $713 million.) In July 2008, Joseph Hogan announced his intent to leave his post as CEO of GE Healthcare to take the role of CEO at ABB. On July 17, 2008, GE Healthcare announced John Dineen had been chosen to replace outgoing CEO Joseph Hogan. Mr. Dineen had been head of GE's Transportation division since 2005. On March 24, 2010, GE Healthcare announced acquisition of MedPlexus In late April, 2010, GE Healthcare announced it was investing €3 million in the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre (TRIL). The Irish centre seeks to enhance independence for elderly people through technological innovation.
Operations
GE Healthcare has a range of products and services that include medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies. From a brief period from the close of the Amersham acquisition in April 2004 - June 2005, GE Healthcare was organized into two primary business segments: GE Healthcare Technologies, led by Joseph Hogan, and GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences, the former Amersham business segments that were led by Peter LöscherPeter Löscher
Peter Löscher is an Austrian manager and former President, Global Human Health at global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG on May 20, 2007 as the successor of Klaus Kleinfeld, and was selected to take on the new position on July 1, 2007...
. Those business segment names and organizations were formally dropped in June 2005.
Business units
GE Healthcare currently has 7 primary business units:- GE Healthcare Global Diagnostic Imaging, headquartered in Pewaukee (near Milwaukee), WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, USA. The Diagnostic Imaging business includes X-ray, digital mammographyDigital mammographyDigital mammography is a specialized form of mammography that uses digital receptors and computers instead of x-ray film to help examine breast tissue for breast cancer. The electrical signals can be read on computer screens, permitting more manipulation of images to theoretically allow...
, computed tomographyComputed tomographyX-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
(CT), magnetic resonanceMagnetic resonanceMagnetic resonance can mean:*Nuclear magnetic resonance*Electron spin resonance*Magnetic resonance imaging *Functional magnetic resonance imaging *Muon spin spectroscopy...
(MR) and molecular imaging technologies. - GE Healthcare Clinical Systems, headquartered in Wauwatosa (suburb of Milwaukee), WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, USA. This business provides a range of healthcare technologies and services for clinicians and healthcare administrators. It includes ultrasoundUltrasoundUltrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
, ECG, bone densitometry, patient monitoring, incubators and infant warmers, respiratory care and anesthesia management. In collaboration with GE Healthcare, The Wayne State University School of Medicine offers an integrated radiology curriculum during its MD Program led by investigators of the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in MicrogravityAdvanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in MicrogravityThe Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project is a US Government funded study investigating strategies for applying diagnostic telemedicine to space. The Principal Investigator is Scott Dulchavsky, Chairman of Surgery at the Henry Ford Health System...
study. GE has donated over one million dollars of Logiq E Ultrasound equipment for this study. - GE Healthcare IT, headquartered in BarringtonBarrington, IllinoisBarrington is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois and Lake County, Illinois. The population was 10,327 at the 2010 census. Located approximately northwest of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks and horse trails in a country-suburban setting...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, USA. Healthcare IT provides clinical & financial information technology solutions such as departmental IT products, RIS/PACS (Radiology Information SystemRadiology Information SystemA radiology information system is a computerized database used by radiology departments to store, manipulate and distribute patient radiological data and imagery. The system generally consists of patient tracking and scheduling, result reporting and image tracking capabilities...
s/Picture Archiving and Communication SystemPicture archiving and communication systemA picture archiving and communication system is a medical imaging technology which provides economical storage of, and convenient access to, images from multiple modalities . Electronic images and reports are transmitted digitally via PACS; this eliminates the need to manually file, retrieve, or...
s) and CVIS (Cardiovascular Information Systems), as well as revenue cycle management and practice applications. - GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics, headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, UK. Medical Diagnostics researches, manufactures and markets imaging agents used during medical scanning procedures to highlight organs, tissue and functions inside the human body.
- GE Healthcare Life Sciences, headquartered in UppsalaUppsala- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. This division produces technology for drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and cellular technologies. It also makes systems and equipment for the purification of biopharmaceuticals. The Life Sciences business unit is led by Kieran Murphy. - GE Healthcare Surgery, headquartered in Salt Lake City, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, USA. This provides tools and technologies for cardiac, surgical and interventional care, from cardiac catheterization labs, diagnostic monitoring systems, data management systems to mobile fluoroscopic imaging systems, navigation and 3D visualization instrumentation. - GE Healthcare GoldSeal, headquartered in WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, USA. They are providers of second-hand refurbished GE X-ray systems.
While it has offices around the globe, GE Healthcare has major regional operations in Buc (suburb of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
; Budaors(suburb of Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
), Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
; Yizhuang
Yizhuang
Yizhuang may refer to two places in China:* Yizhuang, Beijing , area of Daxing District* Yizhuang, Xuzhou , town in Tongshan District, Xuzhou, Jiangsu...
(suburb of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
), China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
; Hino
Hino
Hino can mean:A Place:*Hino, Shiga*Hino, Tokyo*Hino, Tottori*Hino District, Tottori*Lake Hino in EstoniaA Company:*Hino Motors, Ltd.A Person*Rei Hino, a character on Sailor Moon*Hikari Hino, a Japanese porn star...
& Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Its biggest R&D centre is in Bangalore, India, built at a cost of $50 million.
Management
- PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and CEO: John Dineen- President and CEO, Global Diagnostic Imaging Mark Vachon
- President and CEO, Integrated IT Solutions Vishal Wanchoo
- President and CEO, Clinical Systems VACANT
- President and CEO, Life Sciences Kieran Murphy
- President and CEO, Medical Diagnostics Pascale Witz
- CEO, Surgery Joe Shrawder
Major competitors
Major competitors of GE Healthcare include:- Hitachi Medical SystemsHitachiHitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
- Philips HealthcarePhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
- Siemens Healthcare
- Toshiba Medical SystemsToshibais a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...