General Electric‘s healthcare business today announced the acquisition of Prismatic Sensors, a Swedish start-up company focused on photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) detectors.
In plain English, PCCT technology offers the potential for better visualization in GE’s CT scanners. GE’s press release quoted Norbert Pelc, an emeritus professor of radiology at Stanford University, as saying: “I expect the impact on the CT field will be large, for example, improved dose efficiency, particularly for low dose acquisitions and for applications that benefit from tissue specificity.’
What the deal means to investors
Given that imaging contributed more than half of GE Healthcare’s $16.7 billion revenue (excluding the now-divested biopharma business) in 2019, and imaging is also its biggest target market ($19 billion in equipment orders in recent years), it’s crucial for GE to invest in order to stay ahead of fierce competitors such as Siemens Healthineers and Philips.
