GE Healthcare to Purchase Assets of MRI Firm

GE Healthcare has entered into an agreement for an undisclosed amount to purchase certain assets of ONI Medical Systems Inc. in an effort to expand its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offerings.

ONI Medical Systems, based in Wilmington, Mass., is a provider of extremity MRI systems, including the MSK ExtremeTM 1.0T and the MSK ExtremeTM 1.5T, which have compact designs and open configurations. The company’s scanners are designed specifically for imaging of the extremities—only the joint being imaged is inside of the scanner.

“One of the cornerstones of GE’s healthymagination vision is to develop and invest in technologies that increase quality, improve access and decrease costs. In line with this vision, the addition of ONI’s products enhances our magnetic resonance business. It gives us an opportunity to explore technologies that will increase patient access for claustrophobic patients, products with a smaller footprint and premium image quality, and specialty systems that provide advanced, cost-effective MR patient imaging,” said Jim Davis, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare’s global MRI business.

ONI’s musculoskeletal MRI systems have a combination of features—high image quality, fast scan times, robust pulse sequences and a small footprint, according to GE Healthcare. Even patients with extreme cases of claustrophobia are able to sit comfortably for their MRI scan, with no compromises in image quality compared to whole-body scanners.

“As one of ONI’s original founders and a co-inventor of the MSK Extreme scanners, I am very excited to join the GE team in offering our products to customers worldwide. Our product line is highly synergistic with GE’s whole-body MR business. Our companies share a vision of providing innovative solutions for cost-effective, high-quality MR imaging. By joining GE Healthcare, we can combine our comprehensive product offerings and expand our global reach,” said Peter Roemer, chief technology officer at ONI.