Imactis GE HealthCare CT-Navigation
The Imactis CT-Navigation system. [Image from the Imactis website]

GE HealthCare (Nasdaq:GEHC) announced that it acquired computed tomography (CT) interventional guidance technology developer Imactis.

France-based Imactis, founded in 2009, develops CT-Navigation. The ergonomic, universal solution provides stereotactic needle guidance. This enables intuitive pre-planning and continuous control throughout a wide range of procedures.

The companies declined to publicly disclose the financial terms of the deal. GE HealthCare intends to fund it with cash on hand. It remains subject to customary closing conditions, including a governmental review in France. The acquisition marks the GE spinoff’s first foray into M&A since it became a standalone company last week.

“We’re thrilled to take this step in strengthening our interventional guidance offering for patients and customers,” said Jan Makela, president and CEO of Imaging, GE HealthCare. “The Imactis CT-Navigation system is designed to improve workflow for interventional radiologists and hospitals by increasing procedural accuracy, while helping to reduce procedure time and radiation dose for patients and physicians. It is an innovative navigation solution for image-guided percutaneous procedures that aims for better patient outcomes, by reducing variability for simple and complex procedures and improving reproducibility.”

How GE HealthCare views CT as a growing opportunity

In a news release, GE HealthCare called interventional CT capabilities a “high-opportunity growth driver” for the next several years. The Imactis acquisition offers access to that marketplace.

The company intends to expand Imactis’ technology to its image-guided therapy business and drive further growth. Additionally, it expects interventional guidance needs to increase across areas of care. That includes oncology, cardiology, urology, nephrology and gastroenterology.

Imactis’ CT-Navigation features an integrated workstation, guidance software and a disposable procedure kit. It currently holds approval under EU MDR and has FDA clearance for use in the U.S. GE HealthCare expects to provide significant global opportunities for the platform at existing client sites.

“The timing to join GE HealthCare is perfect,” said Pierre Olivier, president and CEO of Imactis. “Our solution, which is already deployed in leading healthcare systems in Europe and the U.S., is ready to scale and become a standard of care, thanks to GE HealthCare’s market access. Our product development team also sees significant opportunities to integrate our hardware and software into GE HealthCare solutions and make the workflow of the interventional radiologists and oncologists even simpler and faster.”