GE Healthcare has signed a deal to acquire specialty ultrasound and surgical visualization developer BK Medical for $1.45 billion. GE said the acquisition will help its $3 billion ultrasound business expand into surgical and therapeutic interventions.
Headquartered in Boston and Copenhagen, Denmark, BK Medical specializes in intraoperative imaging and surgical navigation. The company's core business had been in urology ultrasound, but in recent years, the firm has expanded into the development of ultrasound technology for guiding surgical procedures in real-time, a technique the company calls "active imaging."
BK's technology is used for minimally invasive and robotic surgeries, as well as to visualize deep tissue during interventional procedures in the brain and abdomen. The company's products include the following:
- bkActiv, an ultrasound system that includes hardware and software to guide resection of neurosurgical tumors like glioblastoma
- bk5000, a premium neurosurgery ultrasound scanner that can be integrated with navigation software from Brainlab
- bkSpecto, an ultrasound scanner designed to guide interventional procedures in a wide range of clinical applications
- bk3000, a high-resolution scanner for urology applications
- bkFusion, a small-footprint ultrasound scanner with ability to display ultrasound images fused with MRI scans
The acquisition enables GE to expand from its base in diagnostic ultrasound and into the fast-growing surgical visualization and intervention segment, giving the company broader coverage of the continuum of care, according to Roland Rott, president and CEO of GE's ultrasound business unit.
GE is acquiring BK Medical from investment firm Altaris Capital Partners, where BK is part of its Analogic business. Analogic bought BK in 1993, and Altaris acquired a controlling interest in Analogic in 2018. BK has over 650 employees, according to GE.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
