GE Healthcare Invests $50M In Israeli Telehealth Firm Pulsenmore

GE Healthcare, the billion-dollar American subsidiary of multinational conglomerate General Electric, entered into an agreement to invest up to $50 million in Israeli telehealth company Pulsenmore, the companies stated in a joint announcement on Thursday. 

Founded in 2014, Pulsenmore developed a self-operated prenatal handheld ultrasound device that connects with a user’s smartphone through a mobile app. The service can be offered as an online clinician-guided telecommunication service or as an offline application-guided service. The app enables pregnant women to arrange online consultations and receive clinical assessments from their healthcare providers remotely who interact with the platform via its complementary web application.

This investment will hasten the global adoption of Pulsenmore’s homecare ultrasound solutions, and it will also support the startup’s goal to acquire U.S. FDA clearance and embark on commercial expansion.  

GE Healthcare will also partner with Pulsenmore to distribute its products throughout Europe as well as other markets after the product is cleared for commercial distribution. In addition, GE Healthcare has committed to collaborate with Pulsenmore to expand ultrasound-based healthcare offerings applicable to the homecare market, which is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.2 percent and reach a value of $662.67 billion by 2027. 

Pulsenmore’s platform has already been implemented across Israel in partnership with Clalit Health Services, the country’s largest HMO. The platform has also been adopted by physicians from Israel’s Sheba Medical Center who have been using the device to perform ultrasounds on refugees at the Ukraine border as part of its ‘virtual hospital’ initiative. 

“Our agreement with GE Healthcare is a resounding vote of confidence in our ultrasound technology and our company,” said Pulsenmore CEO and founder Dr. Elazar Sonnenschein. “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.”

“Healthcare providers today are predicting a significant shift of care services from traditional facilities to the home by 2025 which will require an increase in the level of quality or access,” said GE Healthcare Ultrasound president and CEO Roland Rott. “Homecare opens the door to tremendous value for payers, healthcare facilities, physician groups, and care-at-home providers, with the opportunity to improve patients’ quality of care and experience. This is precisely why we are investing in Pulsenmore’s innovative homecare ultrasound technology. We are excited about adding this highly complementary offering to our market-leading Women’s Health Voluson and Primary Care Vscan standard of care ultrasound diagnostics solutions, marking a strong step forward in enabling precision health.”