GE Healthcare to invest $50 mn in low-cost imaging system

Medical technologies and services provider GE Healthcare will be investing $50 million (about Rs 231 crore) in developing a low-cost PET/CT scan system for diagnosis of various diseases.

The effort would be to offer the facilities at around 40 per cent less than the current market prices, according to V Raja, GE Healthcare president and chief executive officer (South Asia).

The company would carry out research and development on the new equipment at its existing facility in Bangalore and would hire 30 people for the same. “The system should be ready in two to three years,” he said.

Raja was in Hyderabad to announce GE Healthcare’s tie-up with city-based Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to set up 10 oncology centres with an investment of Rs 200 crore over two years.

The first centre would come up at Vijaywada. followed centres in Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Thrishur, Raipur, Indore, Coimbatore and Patna. The centres would also be capable of providing cardiology and neurology diagnostic services, said KIMS managing director and chief executive officer B Bhaskar Rao.

“GE Healthcare joined hands with Varian Medical Systems to provide turnkey assistance to equip the oncology centres,” he said.