GE Healthcare to Purchase Assets of ONI Medical Systems, Inc., Provider of World’s Only High-Field Dedicated Extremity MRI Scanners

GE Healthcare, the US$ 17 billion healthcare business of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase certain assets of ONI Medical Systems, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA. In line with GE’s healthymagination vision, ONI’s innovative products will expand GE Healthcare’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) capabilities, offering healthcare professionals a broader range of MRI products to enable more cost-effective imaging procedures in a variety of patient care settings. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ONI Medical Systems is a provider of high performance, low-cost, dedicated purpose MRI systems. This includes the MSK ExtremeTM 1.0T and the MSK ExtremeTM 1.5T, the world’s only compact designed, high-field, truly open configuration extremity MRI systems available in the medical marketplace. ONI’s scanners are designed specifically for imaging of the extremities - only the joint being imaged is inside of the scanner. ONI’s products also have a small footprint for convenient siting in limited spaces and premium image quality, allowing clinicians’ the same diagnostic confidence for extremity imaging at a lower cost when compared to a whole body MRI unit.

“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 MR business.

Both MSK ExtremeTM 1.0T and MSK ExtremeTM 1.5T scanners are applicable to healthcare providers in hospitals, imaging centers and orthopedic/sports medicine practices where there is a need for an anatomy-specific MRI system that provides a quiet, comfortable, non-claustrophobic experience for patients. The current installed base of these two products is more than 175 units worldwide, including some of the top academic hospitals in the world.

“Through this transaction, GE Healthcare is acquiring an outstanding R&D team of engineers and scientists led by Dr. Peter Roemer, an International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine’s 2009 Gold Medal Award winner. We believe by combining the expertise and knowledge of these two businesses, we will create significant added value for our customers and patients everywhere,” added Davis.

ONI’s musculoskeletal MRI systems have a combination of features – high image quality, fast scan times, robust pulse sequences, and a small footprint. 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. ONI MRI systems can be placed alongside other whole body MRI units in hospitals and imaging centers to reduce patient backlogs, or as the main system in orthopedic/ sports medicine offices that need fast, high quality, patient friendly MRI.

“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.

“We commend ONI’s vision and successful execution of building a specialized MRI instrument platform,” commented Zubeen Shroff, Chairman of ONI Medical. “On behalf of the Galen Partners led investor syndicate that included Ivy Capital Partners and Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners, we are proud of ONI’s accomplishments and are pleased these innovative devices will be part of GE’s MRI offering.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the 4th quarter of 2009.

About ONI Medical Systems, Inc.

ONI Medical Systems, Inc. develops and markets dedicated-purpose musculoskeletal MRI systems that exceed the rigorous requirements of diagnostic radiology. With a clear focus on both image quality and clinical utility, ONI’s product design addresses the strict needs of facilities with limited space and budgets, clinicians seeking superior diagnostic MR technologies, and patients who require a comfortable diagnostic testing experience. For more information, please visit www.onimri.com.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.