GE‘s (NYSE:GE) healthcare division and Biosense Webster, the cardiac mapping division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), signed a 3-year pact to integrate GE Healthcare’s CardioLab system with Biosense Webster’s Carto 3 navigation system.
"In the EP space, the 1 thing that we are missing is mapping systems, and partnering with the #1 company in the mapping space was the right thing to do in order to come up with a total product portfolio," Jean-Michel Milles, GE’s general manager of interventional electrophysiology, told MassDevice.com this morning at the annual Heart Rhythm Society conference in Boston.
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The deal between the healthcare giants will see them work on tighet integration between the CardioLab and Carto 3 systems. The duo will also co-develop a yet-to-be-cleared image integration solution pairing GE’s real-time fluoroscopy with BW’s Carto 3 3D mapping & ablation system, according to a press release.
Milles told us GE is also focused on lowering the radiation dose for patients undergoing ablation procedures, both by reducing procedure times and by developing imaging devices that themselves deliver lower doses.
It’s not the first time GE Healthcare has looked outside its own shop for complentary technologies. Earlier this year the company signed a 5-year deal with Covidien (NYSE:COV) to integrate Covidien’s measurement technologies into GE Healthcare’s patient monitoring devices.
And in March, the Little Chalfont, U.K.-based division inked a pact with Masimo (NSDQ:MASI) to integrate Masimo’s Rainbow SET technology into many of its patient monitoring products.
Last month, GE Healthcare logged a double-digit profit increase with its 1st quarter results on a 5% addition to the top line.
The industrial conglomerate’s healthcare segment reported operating profits of $585 million on sales of $4.30 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, compared with operating profits of $531 million on sales of $4.09 billion during the same period last year.
