How AI, Foundational Models, and Digital Platforms Are Reimagining Healthcare

In this exclusive interview with Express Computer, Girish Raghavan, CTO – Women’s Health & X-Ray and VP – Engineering at GE HealthCare Technology Centre India, speaks of how AI is revolutionising diagnostics and imaging for the future. From innovating 3D MRI foundation models to scaling cloud-based imaging and tele-ICU networks, he highlights how GE HealthCare is closing critical care gaps, improving early disease detection, and enabling care teams through smart technologies.

He also sheds light on the company’s long-term investments in India, with ₹8,000 crore committed to R&D, digital health, and AI-driven solutions. As India strengthens its position as a global MedTech hub, GE HealthCare’s collaborations with leading institutes like AIIMS and IISc reflect a focused strategy to co-create scalable innovations that meet the country’s diverse healthcare needs. With a strong push for “Make in India – for India, for the world,” the company is enabling world-class care in Tier-2 cities and beyond.

AI is transforming into medical imaging and diagnostics. What are some of the most impactful AI-driven innovations in X-ray and women’s health imaging that GE HealthCare is currently working on?

As a long-term strategy, we are investing in foundational models, which are large-scale and adaptable neural networks. The objective is to accelerate advancements in medical imaging by introducing foundational AI technologies. Foundation models have risen to prominence due to their ability to operate as human-in-the-loop AI systems, garnering significant attention. These can be fine-tuned and adapted for specific healthcare tasks, such as ultrasound image segmentation, X-ray report generation, and 3D MRI analysis.  

Moreover, when we speak about foundation models, while many rely on a series of 2D images, we are training a foundation model with 3D MRI data. Today, we are using advanced technologies to train this model using multi-modal data which enables added functionality such as image-to-text searches, linking words to images, segmentation, and disease classification. The new 3D model allows for more comprehensive analysis of complex anatomical structures. And why do we call this a gamechanger? The vision is for this model to ultimately help care teams see more in one scan than ever before with the goal of eventually supporting enhanced diagnoses and better treatment.  By combining our deep MRI experience and track record of innovation in AI such as solutions like AIR Recon DL, Sonic DL, and more, GE HealthCare is pioneering a new approach with its full-body 3D MRI foundation model.

AI’s significant contribution to diagnostics not only helps in the efficiency of workflow and patient care but also in the early detection of diseases. As these technologies become more refined, they will play an increasingly vital role in supporting healthcare providers in making informed decisions about patient care.

With the increasing shift towards remote healthcare and telemedicine, what are some key digital initiatives GE HealthCare has implemented to improve accessibility and efficiency?

Technology can help mitigate the disparity in the healthcare professionals and patient ratio through intelligent, transformative workflow and operations solutions achieving peak efficiency. 

Take, for instance, Enterprise Imaging in the Cloud helps with accessing and sharing images and data across care networks empowering healthcare professionals. Clinical connectivity in cardiology through Centricity Cardio Enterprise, and advanced visualisation (AV) ecosystem for faster and more accurate diagnoses, and treatment decisions are just some of the digital solutions that help improve accessibility and efficiency.

In 2023, we collaborated with Medanta to Launch Tele-ICU Services in India, to expand access to superspeciality critical care. The collaboration provides 24×7 critical care support and high-level knowledge transfer, powered by cutting edge technology from GE HealthCare. The Command Centre provides a near real-time patient monitoring, even during the odd hours like midnight, enabling early patient interventions. As a result of this fusion, the decision-making ability of an ICU can bring extraordinary results in clinical outcomes. With Tele-ICU 2.0 healthcare professionals can access integrated data from multiple systems and devices into a single pane of glass to provide a real time, comprehensive view of patients’ status across a selected care area, hospital, or entire health system. 

Our Clinical Network Management Application (CNMA), featuring the CARESCAPE Gateway and CARESCAPE network for telemetry patient monitoring, ensures stable and secure patient data collection. Through these efforts, we are committed to transforming healthcare accessibility and delivering better outcomes for patients and providers across India.

As the CTO leading India Technology Centre, what are your top technology priorities for the next few years? Are there any specific areas of investment or collaboration that you’re focusing on?

India is at the forefront of becoming a MedTech hub leading innovation and investment in healthcare. Recognising this potential, GE HealthCare has committed ₹8,000 crore over five years to R&D, AI-powered diagnostics, and advanced imaging. With 30+ products made in India and exported to over 70 countries, our work on advanced research in artificial intelligence and digital solutions, our four state-of-the-art manufacturing plants are fully export-focused, reinforcing India’s role as a global innovation and production hub.

At the heart of our innovation journey is the largest GE HealthCare R&D centre globally, located in Bengaluru, with a legacy of over 30 years, employing 2000+ engineers, holding 1250+ patents, and delivering 130+ innovations. This Centre also serves as a global Centre of Excellence for Software Applications, CT, and Healthcare Digital Solutions. Our strategic focus remains on precision, preventive, and predictive healthcare, with key global contributions like the AI innovations, cybersecurity lab, and additive manufacturing expertise. Together, these efforts underscore GE HealthCare’s commitment to advancing access to high-quality, AI-driven healthcare solutions. 

As part of our collaborative approach to foster knowledge sharing and accelerate innovation, we are actively seeking to create partnerships with industry and academia that address the needs of the Indian population and advances personalised, preventive, and predictive care. We recently partnered with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to establish an AI Health Innovations Hub which will focus on the development of products and solutions that have potential to enhance healthcare delivery and outcomes through more precise diagnosis, innovative treatment protocols, and real-time patient data tracking.

As the technology partner, Wipro GE Healthcare will invest around $1 billion over the next five years to co-develop, test, and deploy intelligent systems and workflow solutions in cardiology, oncology, and neurology. As clinical partner for the hub, AIIMS will provide multi-modal clinical inputs, and function as a real-world clinical environment for evaluation, feedback, and deployment of GE HealthCare’s AI-enabled solutions. 

Our collaboration with Elekta is an example of the vision to expand access to precision radiation therapy solutions in India, enabling enhanced effectiveness, accuracy, and individualised treatment across the entire cancer care treatment. We have also collaborated with Boston Scientific, a global medical device manufacturer, to provide end-to-end innovative interventional cardiac care solutions in India. This was a first-of-its-kind collaboration in India to enable easier access to treatment and improve heart care for patients. Recently, we have signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for a pioneering alliance to advance healthcare innovation, research, and technology development in India. This collaboration aims to take a comprehensive approach in solving the care gap by addressing the full lifecycle that includes co-developing solutions, validating the technologies, and manufacturing them locally to bring them to the market. Additionally, we also have on-going collaborations with IISc and several IITs, to further research for MedTech innovations in India.

Can you highlight a recent technological innovation from GE HealthCare that has significantly improved patient outcomes or operational efficiency?

Our commitment to patient centricity is aligned with the government’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We are always building MedTech that is not only inspired by innovation but also reaches the last citizen. This was the objective when we launched Revolution Aspire— an advanced imaging solution designed and manufactured end-to-end in India, at the newly launched Wipro GE Medical Devices Manufacturing plant.  The CT system is equipped with higher imaging intelligence to improve clinical confidence when diagnosing diseases and anomalies. With Revolution Aspire CT system we are catering to the underserved markets and bridge the access gap to quality healthcare. Within a year of its launch, Revolution Aspire completed 100+ installations, with an average of 50% customers outside of Metro and Tier-1 cities, and 30% customers being first time CT buyers. 

With products like Revolution Aspire, we want to take quality healthcare to tier 2 cities and beyond. It is critical for all health centres, big and small, to have access to quality diagnosis.  At GE HealthCare, we aim to empower India’s healthcare infrastructure with more technologies that will improve patient care delivery.

Given the rapid advancements in connectivity, automation, and digital health, how do you see the future of healthcare technology evolving, and what role will GE HealthCare play in shaping this landscape?
The widespread adoption of AI in India’s healthcare sector is anticipated to generate nearly 3 million jobs by 2028, offsetting the displacement of approximately 23% of existing roles (9). The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is spearheading nationwide transformations through the establishment of Centres of Excellence and the implementation of smart solutions. 

The future of healthcare technology in India is poised for significant transformation, driven by innovations in AI, telemedicine, and personalised medicine. At GE HealthCare, our aim is to enhance our product offerings and contribute to making India a global hub for medical technology – Make in India – for India, for the World.