The Hindu Business Line : GE Healthcare trebles R&D facility space

Bangalore, March 28 GE Healthcare has almost trebled its R&D facility space at its India centre here, including a $25-million ‘simulated hospital’ that will try out new medical innovations for the local and global markets.

The eco-friendly LEED-certified facility — called GE Odyssey — has 40,000 sq ft of space for 1,100 healthcare researchers, and enhances the GE John F. Welch Technology Centre here that came up in 2000. It will totally house 2,000 engineers, the rest will be from GE’s other research areas.

On his first visit to the Bangalore labs, Mr John Dineen, President and CEO, GE Healthcare, said, “It is the biggest engineering lab for GE Healthcare, and the first of its kind in the world today. We have invested $50 million (around Rs 250 crore) in the new lab and will be making an additional investment of $25 million.”

Total investment

With this, the total investment in the entire Jack Welch centre goes up to $175 million.

Mr Dineen, at the helm of GE Healthcare since July 2008, said in the next three years, the medical equipment major aimed to double the current India sales of $500 million sales, including exports.

Citing possible research outcomes from the Bangalore centres, Mr Omar Ishrak, President & CEO of GE Healthcare Systems, said Mac 400, made for India with a QWERTY keyboard, was updated as Mac 800 with cell phone-like texting tools and recently launched in the US. A portable ultrasound system was selling well in India and about 15,000 pieces were sold worldwide.

Mr V. Raja, President & CEO, GE Healthcare (South Asia), said the challenge was to increase affordability and access of products; their ‘made in India for India’ approach was showing results. Like Mac 400, “We are looking to roll out a number of such solutions in the next 14-18 months (low-cost MRI, portable x-ray systems, monitoring systems etc,) with same quality,” he said.

Focus on rural areas

“We have tested the market and innovated solutions that are suitable for this market and (launched) the country’s first digital X-ray system, baby monitoring systems, ultrasound systems, and maternal infant care solutions,” Mr Raja said.

GE was focussed on taking high technology to rural areas too. “Our focus is to bring technology to the bedside of the patient and to fit it to the pocket size of the patient,” Mr Raja said. It was exploring public-private partnerships with Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other State governments to take imaging equipment to non-urban centres and public hospitals, he said.

GE Healthcare also recently announced its home healthcare foray with the launch of sleep care and home respiratory care solutions. The home healthcare segment is untapped but growing fast in the country, he said.

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