GE Healthcare has agreed to invest up to $50m in Israeli start-up Pulsenmore to enter the homecare segment.
The equity investment is intended to speed up the global acceptance of homecare ultrasound solutions by the Israeli firm.
It will also help Pulsenmore to seek the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and commercial expansion.
In addition to the investment, GE will partner with Pulsenmore to supply its products in Europe as well as several other markets once the product is available commercially.
The companies will also collaborate to develop ultrasound-based healthcare offerings intended for the homecare market.
Pulsenmore is claimed to be ideally positioned for the telehealth market with its new self-operated prenatal home ultrasound solution.
When connected to a smartphone, the solution supports pregnant women in performing self-scanning for remote clinical evaluation by their healthcare provider.
The overall product offering includes a handheld ultrasound device that can be attached to the user’s smartphone and a mobile app that aids the patient to consult a clinician in offline/online mode.
The offering also includes a web application for clinician-side interaction with the platform and a software API that allows the company’s online services to be combined with health records.
Pulsenmore’s device offers regular fetal ultrasound scanning and consultation as an offline application-guided service or as an online clinician-guided telecommunication service.
Pulsenmore CEO and founder Dr Elazar Sonnenschein said: “With GE Healthcare’s market leadership position and reach, we are one step closer to achieving our vision of making home ultrasound universally accessible for remote and reliable care, ultimately improving maternal health across the globe.
“Through this exciting partnership, we will accelerate the empowerment of women to proactively manage their pregnancy, in collaboration with their health care providers, and will lead the next wave of ultrasound innovation that will benefit patients and providers alike.”
The Israeli firm is also developing several applications and devices, including remote follicular monitoring for women who undergo in-vitro fertilisation and remote monitoring for end-stage renal disease and chronic heart failure.
Earlier this week, GE Healthcare expanded its existing collaboration with Alliance Medical to create a digital solution that improves the productivity of the radiology departments in the UK hospitals.
