GE Healthcare to expand partnership with Korea: Intercontinental CEO

Elie Chaillot, president and chief executive officer at GE HealthCare Intercontinental. [Courtesy of GE HealthCare]

South Korea is now one of the world’s top five countries in the digital medical market, a remarkable growth given the country’s position in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) five years ago, according to Elie Chaillot, president and chief executive officer at GE HealthCare Intercontinental.

Chaillot, who was in Korea to attend the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) World Congress last week, noted that Korea is an important collaboration partner in the field of digital healthcare.

He said that Korean medical professionals are highly sensitive to adopting new technologies quickly and Korean AI-related startups and companies have shown excellent capabilities, leading to success on a global scale, and expressed his intention to collaborate further with Korea.

Chaillot predicted that the digitalization of healthcare is inevitable, adding that digitization should take place not only in specific areas but also across medical equipment and that GE Healthcare utilizes algorithms to support healthcare professionals in making better diagnoses.

The company has over 9,700 researchers internally and it has the most U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for AI application technology products.

Chaillot visits Korea once every six months due to the high potential for expansion in the digital healthcare market.

He stated that Korea is experiencing an aging population and there is high demand for related medical equipment. The country also has many outstanding experts in the healthcare field, who publish numerous high-quality papers worldwide.

Among the world’s top smart hospitals, 14 are in Korea, which demonstrates significant achievements in cutting-edge medical research.

GE Healthcare, which invests more than $1 billion in research and development annually and holds more than 11,000 patents, has been leading industrial innovation based on its 100-year experience. Over 2 billion patients receive their diagnoses through GE Healthcare’s imaging, mobile, diagnostic, and monitoring equipment.

The company also provides more than 200 digital and analytics applications based on the Edison intelligence platform.

Chaillot, who joined GE Healthcare in 2001, was in the sales and marketing teams for the diagnostic imaging, digital healthcare, and interventional businesses in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He has served as the CEO and President of the Intercontinental region, encompassing all of Asia except China, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, since 2022.

GE Healthcare’s Intercontinental region boasts a revenue of about $3 billion and employs 10,000 people.

Chaillot designated Korean hospitals as important collaboration partners and expected significant achievements in the future.

He noted that collaboration with Korean hospitals is happening in various areas, including a memorandum of understanding signed with Korea University Medical Center last week. GE Healthcare is also conducting joint projects, such as the development of new applications applied to medical imaging based on clinical research and solutions, to improve workflows for patients.

Chaillot noted that progress has been made in many aspects of digital healthcare, but more progress is still needed, particularly in diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. He predicted that as medical imaging and related aspects become more precise and advanced, early detection of cancer and minimizing patient discomfort and suffering will become possible.