GE Healthcare

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GE Healthcare is a $16 billion (USD) unit of General Electric. It employs over 42,500 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. In 2004, after the $9 billion acquisition of UK Based Amersham, PLC, the formerly named GE Medical Systems was divided into two primary units: GE Healthcare Technologies (headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA,) and GE Healthcare Biosciences (headquartered in Little Chalfont, UK).

GE Healthcare Technologies (GEHC-T) specializes in medical diagnostic imaging equipment (such as MRI and CT scanners) as well as information technologies (such as ECG acquisition and storage equipment). Bio-Sciences specializes in determining the underlying causes of, and early detection of, disease. Their products and focuses include chromatography and purification systems, contrast media, and protein separation, among others. This division accounts for $3 billion in business.

In 2004, GE Healthcare along with other healthcare companies built a research reactor for neutron and unit cell research near Garching, Munich, Germany. It's the only one in the world, today.

Also in 2004, GE Healthcare acquired Instrumentarium (including its Datex-Ohmeda division), a producer, manufacturer, and suppliers 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.

In 2005, Sir William Castell, CEO of GE Healthcare and former CEO of Amersham PLC stepped down as CEO to become Chairman and Technologies CEO Joe Hogan became the overall CEO for the GE Healthcare business.

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 Information Technologies (GEHC-IT), which specializes in clinical information systems and healthcare revenue management.