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 Headquarters atHeller International Building inChicago | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
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| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded |
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| Headquarters | Heller International Building, Chicago, Illinois ,United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Revenue |  US$20.6 billion (2025) |
| US$2.76 billion (2025) | |
| US$2.08 billion (2025) | |
| Total assets | US$36.9 billion (2025) |
| Total equity | US$10.4 billion (2025) |
Number of employees | c. 54,000 (2025) |
| Website | gehealthcare.com |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc. is an Americanhealth technology company based inChicago, Illinois. The company, which stylizes its own name asGE HealthCare, operates four divisions:Medical imaging, which includesmolecular imaging,computed tomography,magnetic resonance,women’s health screening andX-ray systems;Ultrasound; Patient Care Solutions, which is focused onremote patient monitoring,anesthesia andrespiratory care, diagnosticcardiology, and infant care; and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics, which manufacturescontrast agents andradiopharmaceuticals.[2]
GE HealthCare's primary customers are hospitals and health networks.[3] In 2023, the company received 42% of its revenue in the United States and 13% of its revenue from China, where the company faces increasing competition.[3]
The company operates in more than 100 countries, with GE HealthCare major regional operations in Buc (suburb of Paris), France;Helsinki, Finland;Kraków, Poland;Budapest, Hungary;Yizhuang (suburb of Beijing), China;Hino & Tokyo, Japan, andBangalore, India. Its biggest R&D center is in Bangalore, India, built at a cost of $50 million.[4]
In May 2022,General Electric announced the creation of a standalone healthcare company and completed thecorporate spin-off in January 2023, establishing GE HealthCare as an independent, publicly traded entity.
GE HealthCare traces its roots to the Victor Electric Company, founded in 1893 in a basement by Charles F. Samms and Julius B. Wantz, previously employees of the assembly lines at the Knapp Electrical Works and Midland Electric Co. and then in their early 20s.[5] They initially focused on supplies for the dental industry.[5] At the time, they were a six-person operation.[5]
By 1896, one year afterWilhelm Röntgen's discovery, Victor Electric entered the business forX-ray machines. The business grew rapidly and so, in 1896, the company moved into new premises three times the original size.[5] By 1896, the company also made electrostatic generators for exciting X-ray tubes and electrotherapeutic devices.[6]
By 1903, Victor Electric had outgrown its facilities at 418 Dearborn St. inChicago and bought two floors of a building at 55 Market Street, Chicago.[5] 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.
In 1916, the company merged with three companies: Scheidel Western, Snook-Roentgen, MacAlaster & Wiggin.[5] Victor's two founders had key roles in the new firm; Charles F. Samms was company president and Julius B. Wantz was Vice-President of manufacturing and engineering.
In 1920, GE HealthCare entered the imaging technology business with the acquisition of Victor Electric Company, founded in 1893. By 1930 it was renamed to GE X-Ray;[7]: 78 Before the introduction of the CT scanner in the 1970s and the MRI scanner in the 1980s, it declined to around 2% of GE's sales among the 120 departments in the conglomerate.[7]: 78
In the 1990s the department began to diversify into various medtech businesses and executed 94 acquisitions between 1995 and 2017.[7]: 81 It also continued to invest in research and development, with over 3800 patents between 2000 and 2009.[7]: 81
Use of X-rays in industry for non-destructive testing of war materials increased duringWorld War II. X-rays were broadly used as a medical tool for military services.
As the war ended, GE X-Ray Corporation continued to grow. Greater production capacity and greater expertise was needed in the core business of building X-ray tubes. Since the tubes were made from hand-blown glass, the decision was made to move the company 90 miles north toMilwaukee, Wisconsin, in order to tap into the enormous amount of glass-blowing talent in Milwaukee's beer-brewing industry.
In 1947, the company moved from Jackson Blvd. in Chicago to a 43-acre (170,000 m2) site in the city of West Milwaukee, which had been used for buildingturbochargers during the war. The street was renamed Electric Avenue.[8]
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 ofGE 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 inSchenectady, New York, 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 the 1970s, CT scanners were introduced, followed by MRI machines in the 1980s, and GE became a major manufacturer of both.[7]: 79 The department, named GE Medical Systems (GEMS), grew rapidly under the management ofJack Welch, establishing international partnerships and acquisitions.[7]: 79 It expanded to sell globally, including various partnerships and acquisitions, growing to 50% sales outside the USA by 1988.[7]: 79
In 1982, the company set up a joint venture withYokogawa Electric. It changed its name to GE HealthCare Japan Corporation in 2009.[9]
In 1983, GE Medical started investing heavily inMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology, investing nearly US$1 billion in a new plant inWaukesha. It developed the MR Signa, which became very successful. Up to this time, the medical Systems Division had simply been divided into domestic and international, but in 1987 it reorganized into the three "poles" of America, Europe and Pacific.
In 1985 GE acquiredTechnicare 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 CTs with an installed base in the thousands, as well as some X-ray diagnostic equipment and a nascentMRI product range.
In 1988, GE Medical Europe merged with CGR (Compagnie Générale de Radiologie), a medical equipment supplier based in France, to form General Electric CGR Medical Systems. The European headquarters were moved fromHammersmith (UK) toBuc, Yvelines, near Paris.
In 1920, Victor was acquired byGeneral Electric and was renamed VICTOR X-RAY CORPORATION.[5][10] At that time, it was the largest manufacturer of X-ray tubes.[citation needed]
The merger of the Victor subsidiary and General Electric closed on July 28, 1926 and the company became "General Electric X-Ray Corporation".[5] 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 Victor name was phased-out from all branding; however, advertisements did mention "formerly Victor X-Ray Corporation".[5]
In 1974, work onCT was started and the first CT machine was installed in 1976. In June 1980, the company acquired the CT scanner business ofEMI.[11]
The MRI magnet plant inFlorence, South Carolina, was opened a short time later, giving GE its own magnet production. It underwent a $40 million expansion in 2017.[12]
GE HealthCare was incorporated in 1994.[13]
In 1992, GE acquired the Picker Service organization in the U.K.
In 1994, it changed the name in Europe from GE-CGR back to General Electric Medical Systems.
In September 1995, the company acquired Resonex, an MRI maker based inFremont, California.[14]
In 1996, Jeff Immelt was named CEO of the company; he became CEO of GE in 2000.[15]
In April 1998, the company acquired Diasonics Vingmed fromElbit Medical Imaging ofHaifa, Israel, expanding its ultrasound imaging business.[16]
In September 1998, the company acquired Marquette Medical Systems for $808 million.[17][18][19]
In November 1998, the company acquired the Nuclear and MR businesses ofElscint, (then a division ofElron, based in Haifa, Israel), for $100 million.[20]
In September 2000, the company acquired the remaining 50% of the ELGEMS joint-venture formed with Elscint in 1997.[21][22]
In 2001, the company acquired San Francisco, California–based CT maker Imatron for $210 million. Imatron produced anElectron beam tomography (EBT) scanner that performs imaging applications used by physicians specializing in cardiology, pulmonology and gastroenterology. The Imatron business was later incorporated into GE HealthCare's Diagnostic Imaging business segment.
In March 2002, the company acquired MedicaLogic, creator of the formerLogician, an ambulatoryElectronic Medical Records system, for approximately $32 million.[23]
In April 2002, GE HealthCare acquired Visualization Technology, a manufacturer of intra-operative medical devices and related products for use in minimally invasive image guided surgery, based in Boston.[24]
In January 2003, the company acquired Millbrook Corporation, maker of Millbrook Practice Manager, a billing and scheduling system for doctors' offices.[25]
GE HealthCare IT later merged the two products into one, although the stand-alone EMR product is still available and in development.
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 Instrumentarium's Ziehm Imaging mobile C-arm business, as well as its Spacelabs patient-monitoring unit.[26]
In April 2004, the company acquiredAmersham plc.[27][28]
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 nearGarching (outside ofMunich), Germany. It is the only such reactor currently in operation.
In 2006,Sir William Castell resigned as CEO to become Chairman of theWellcome Trust, a charity that fosters and promotes human and animal research—in the United Kingdom. Former GE Medical Systems CEO Joe Hogan then became CEO.[29]
In January 2006, the company acquiredIDX Systems Corporation for $1.2 billion. IDX was folded into GE HealthCare Integrated IT Solutions, which specializes in clinical information systems and healthcare revenue management.[30][31]
January 2007, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped GE OEC the Salt Lake-based design and manufacturing plant from selling their surgical imaging systems stating that the OEC systems could put patients at risk.[27]
In February 2008, GE HealthCare acquiredWhatman plc, a global supplier of filtration products and technologies for £363 million.[32]
In July 2008, Joseph Hogan announced his intent to leave his post as CEO of GE HealthCare to take the role of CEO atABB. John Dineen, head of GE's Transportation division since 2005, was named CEO.[33]
In March 2010, the company acquired MedPlexus.[34] The company then offered its first electronic medical record product in a software-as-a-service platform.[35]
In April 2010, the company announced it was investing €3 million in the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre. The Irish centre seeks to enhance independence for elderly people through technological innovation.[36][37]
In July 2015, GE HealthCare partnered with the 2015CrossFit Games to provide athletes withmobile imaging equipment.[38]
The following year in January 2016, the company announced the move of its global headquarters toChicago.[39][40][41]
In June 2017, Kieran Murphy was named CEO of the company, and former CEOJohn L. Flannery was named CEO of GE.[42][43]
In April 2018, GE HealthCare sold several healthcare information technology assets toVeritas Capital for $1.05 billion.[44]
In June 2018, GE first announced plans to spin off GE HealthCare.[45][46] However, the plan was delayed after GE sold its biopharma business toDanaher Corporation for $21.4 billion.[47]
In January 2021, the company acquired Prismatic Sensors AB, focused on Deep Silicon detector technology.[48][49][50] A few months later in May 2021, the company acquired Zionexa, a company focused onbiomarkers for the detection ofbreast cancer.[51]
In July 2021, the company integrated technology from Spectronic Medical to createartificial intelligence-based software.[52]
In November 2021,General Electric announced it would split into three publicly traded companies, with GE HealthCare being one of the three.[53] The spin-off of GE HealthCare was completed on January 4, 2023.[54][55] Prior to the spin-off, the company acquired BK Medical from Altaris Capital Partners for $1.45 billion.[56]
Following its separation, GE HealthCare continued to expand. In February 2023, the company acquired Caption Health, anartificial intelligence medical technology manufacturer headquartered inSan Mateo, California, for $150 million.[57]
In July 2024, the company acquired the clinicalartificial intelligence business from Intelligent Ultrasound for $51 million.[58]
In March 2025, GE HealthCare introduced the Freelium sealed magnet platform for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The system uses less than 1% of the helium required by traditional imaging systems, and is intended to support more sustainable imaging and imrpove access to imaging in regions with limited helium supply.[59][60]
In April 2025, GE HealthCare entered a partnership with FPT. A few months later they established a multi-year collaboration with Ascension, a non-profit health system. The two companies plan to work together to improve Ascension's patient access, safety, and care quality.[61][62]
In November 2025, the company entered an agreement to acquire Intelerad Medical Systems for $2.3 billion.[63]
For 2024, the company reported nearly $20 billion in total revenue split between about $13 billion in products and about $6.6 billion in services, growing by 2% from the prior year.[64]
As of 2025, the company reports its revenue broken down into foursegments in accordance with the segment reporting accounting requirements (ASU 2023-07):
Major competitors includeFujifilm,Siemens Healthineers, and other companies in themedical imaging industry.
The imaging business was the original core starting with x-rays in 1920, CT scanners in the 1970s, and MRI machines in the 1980s.[7]: 79
As of 2024, it includes the original imaging businesses along with continued innovations, such as the digital Omni Legend PET/CT scanner introduced in 2022.[65]
GE uses a custom scientificLinux distribution HELiOS (Healthcare Enterprise Linux Operating System) on their machines.[66] They partnered withSUSE in 2020.[67]
The company's headquarters are in Chicago on the 16th floor of theHeller International Building. In 2019, it consolidated hundreds of employees, particularly in technology fromBarrington, Illinois to its Chicago HQ.[68] In 2020, it relocated salespeople to the headquarters from Wisconsin or regional sales offices countrywide.[69]
The company has a major presence inWaukesha, Wisconsin, where as of 2023 over half of its 5200 Wisconsin employees were located.[70] The company collaborates with researchers atUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison which is less than 80 miles away.[71]
As of 2024, around two-thirds of CT scanners are produced in China, particularly in theBeijing Economic-Technological Development Area where GE launched its first joint venture, GE Hangwei Medical Systems, Co., Ltd., in China in 1991.[72] GE also has a manufacturing facility in India, which launched in 2022.[73]
As of 2023, the company has a manufacturing plant in 4855 W. Electric Ave.,West Milwaukee which produces imaging tubes and detectors.[70] It announced plans to expand the plant in 2020 to produce more components for PET and CT scanners.[69] The company began its presence in the region in 1947 during a post-World War II shift by GE X-Ray.[74]
The company has a plant inNorth Aurora, Illinois; in 2025, workers there voted to join theInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which also represents workers inWarrensville Heights, Ohio and Wisconsin.[75]
In 2009, a new 230k square foot plant inTroy, New York was completed for manufacturing digital mammography x-ray machines,[76] incorporating digital flat panel X-ray technology using research conducted inNiskayuna, New York.[77]
In 1994, GE HealthCare ignored advice of its safety experts to proactively restrict the use of itsMRI contrast agent, Omniscan.[78] It also tried to conceal evidence of its risks by allegedly telling a researcher to "burn the data", as revealed during a trial opposing debilitated consumers, due to its accumulation in multiple organs. This allegation was denied by GE HealthCare.[79]
In 2009, GE HealthCare sued for defamation a radiologist at the University of Copenhagen Hospital who linked the uses of Omniscan togadolinium induced fibrosis after 20 of his patients (from which 1 died) suffered from it after its administration.[80]
In 2017, GE HealthCare opposed theEuropean Medicines Agency (EMA) suspending the use of Omniscan (along with other linear agents), despite evidence of the highcytotoxicity of gadodiamide[81] and its likelihood to dissociate after deposition. GE HealthCare said at the time it believed the overall benefit-risk profile of linear agents including Omniscan was positive and should remain as an option for radiologists.[82]
In a 2020 study, four commercially available gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents were tested: gadoteridol (ProHance), gadoterate (Dotarem, Clariscan) and gadobutrol (Gadovist). Of the four, gadoteridol demonstrated the lowest levels of retained gadolinium in the brain and soft body tissues of the rats used for the study. None of the tested agents had any impact on kidney histology.[83][84] However, a separate 2022 study where rats were administered 80 human equivalent doses of various gadolinium-based contrast agents demonstrated that gadoterate had the lowest levels of gadolinium detected in specific areas of the brain and kidneys. Additionally, behavioral studies have been shown that there are no effects on any neurological parameters.[85]
According to a report inThe Independent in January 2016, the company received more money back in tax benefits (£1.6 million) in the UK in the previous 12 years than it paid. Its UK operations are all ultimately owned by a holding company in the Netherlands. Tax paid was £250,000, 1.7% of its £14.3 million profit. The company employs 22,000 people in the UK.[86]
In 2011, the company agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that a company it acquired in 2004, Amersham Health, violated theFalse Claims Act of 1863 by knowingly providing false or misleading information toMedicare, causing the government to reimburseMyoview at artificially inflated rates. By maximizing the number of times a vial of the solution was used, health care providers billed Medicare multiple times for the product. Awhistleblower received $5.1 million in the settlement.[87][88] GE admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement, noting that the allegations pertain to over a year before it acquired Nycomed Amersham.[87][88]
The company supplies a cloud-based imaging system to the East Midlands Radiology Consortium, which was described in October 2017 as breaking down, so that medical images had to be sent between hospitals by taxi.[89]
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