GE Healthcare Launches Collaboration Programme For Healthtech Startups

US-headquartered medical technology company GE Healthcare has announced the launch of an India-based startup collaboration programme, Edison[X]. The programme will work with startups in India to develop solutions on the Edison platform for some of the healthcare challenges existing today.

Launched in November 2018, the Edison comprises of applications focused on clinical, operational and financial outcomes; smart devices embedded with advanced intelligence to improve workflow, productivity and diagnostics; and the Edison platform. The platform enables GE Healthcare and its strategic partners to develop, deploy, manage, secure and distribute advanced applications, services and AI algorithms.

Amit Phadnis, GE Officer and Chief Digital Officer, GE Healthcare, said, “Edison[X] – Startups powered by GE Healthcare will be central to the ecosystem that will harness the brainpower and energy of startups to arrive at solutions that help healthcare providers deliver precision health across the care continuum.”

Edison [X]: What’s The Plan?

Any startup based out of India or has their core development activity/ team here can apply for the first cohort of Edison[X]. The startups working in the healthcare space and leveraging advanced technologies like Internet of Things, big data and advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning etc will be preferred.

The selected six to eight startups are expected to arrive at solutions that improve patient outcomes and experience, efficiency of clinical practice and that of the healthcare facilities, reduce waste and inefficiencies, and eliminate costly and harmful errors.

The applications will be evaluated via a three-stage screening process and shortlisted applicants will be invited for a final face-to-face pitch with the evaluation panel.

The final selection is based on the strength of the business idea/plan, maturity and the closeness to productise their solution, team capabilities and relevance to the focus areas. The interested startups can apply here till September 16.

Nalinikanth Gollagunta, managing director, Wipro GE Healthcare, South Asia said, “The core intent of this program is to nurture the startup ecosystem and work with them to create healthcare solutions leveraging the Edison platform and decades of GE Healthcare’s expertise –  solutions that will enable preventive healthcare, precision diagnosis and treatment in a timely and affordable manner, improved workflows keeping patient at the core and the clinicians, technicians, radiologists and IT support as the surrounding ecosystem.”

Healthcare Industry In India

As per DataLabs by Inc42 estimates, the total market size of the healthcare industry in India is projected to be $202 Bn this year. This is a growth of 84% from the $110 Bn market size in the year 2016.

The driving force behind the phenomenal growth of the healthcare industry can be linked to factors such as the emergence of healthtech, the rise in medical value tourism and the increase in the number of lifestyle or urban diseases and disorders such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

As per DataLabs by Inc42, from 2015 to Q1 2019, the total funding in healthtech startups was $1.34 Bn with a deal count of 334. Although healthtech startup contributes a mere 9.26%, it is still the sector with the fifth-most number of funded startups in India.

The advent of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR, along with infrastructural improvements through blockchain and IoT has opened the door for more entrepreneurs to capitalise on business opportunities in enterprise solutions, medical devices and disease diagnosis.