Intel and GE create telehealth company
- 4 August 2010
Intel and GE have announced they will merge their telehealth and home care assets to create a new company to market and develop technologies to support independent living and chronic disease management.
The new company, which is unnamed, will invest €189m (£157m) over the next five years in the research and product development of home-based health technologies.
The new company will combine the assets GE Healthcare’s Home Health division and Intel’s Digital Health Group and builds on the joint venture that the companies formed in April last year around independent living.
In addition to global product research and development , both companies plan to expand their current development programs in home health and independent living technologies to include new areas such as fall prevention, medication compliance, , cardiovascular disease, diabetes and personal wellness monitoring.
GE chairman and chief executive, Jeff Immelt, said: "We think this partnership offers the potential to lower costs by keeping people out of hospitals while giving health professionals the data they need to deliver the best possible care.
“Intel and GE share a vision to use technology to bring effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic illness. Together we can deliver innovative products to serve this rapidly growing market."
The companies also announced that GE Healthcare will sell and market the Intel’s personal health system, the Health Guide, in the US.
Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini, added: "Most of the healthcare discussions today focus on the integration of more technology into traditional healthcare settings.
While those investments are necessary and will create a more efficient healthcare system, it is not sufficient to meet the growing needs that are about to impact a system that is already at a saturation point.
“The GE and Intel partnership will not only help seniors and the chronically ill, but will also take a giant step forward in changing how healthcare is delivered."
Intel and GE will each own half of the venture which is expected to launch by the end of 2010.
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