GE HealthCare launches AI-driven, patient-friendly Invenia ABUS Premium to accelerate scanning and drive early cancer detection in dense breasts

Rhea-AI Summary

GE HealthCare (GEHC) has launched Invenia ABUS Premium, an advanced 3D ultrasound system featuring AI-driven technology for breast cancer screening. The system is specifically designed for patients with dense breasts, where approximately 71% of cancers occur and traditional mammograms may miss one-third of cases.

The new system includes Verisound AI and AI Assistant, offering up to 40% faster scanning speeds and improved image quality. Key features include Scan Quality Assessment, Auto Nipple Detection, and a novel Reverse Curve transducer for enhanced patient comfort. The system's AI tools assist in detecting and characterizing breast lesions, potentially reducing unnecessary biopsies.

According to studies, 40% of women globally and 70% of Asian women have dense breast tissue, making them 4-6 times more likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis. The system will launch in key markets throughout 2025 and has received FDA Premarket Approval.

Positive

• FDA Premarket Approval received for commercial launch
• 40% faster scanning speed compared to previous version
• AI integration potentially reduces unnecessary biopsies
• 100% patient recommendation rate in experience studies
• Targets large addressable market (40-70% of women globally)

Negative

• Product launch delayed until 2025
• AI Assistant tools not available in all regions

Insights

Medical Technology Analyst

GE HealthCare's launch of the Invenia ABUS Premium represents a significant advancement in breast cancer screening technology that directly addresses a critical medical need. The new system targets the 40% of women globally and 70% of Asian women with dense breast tissue—a population 4-6 times more likely to develop breast cancer yet faces detection challenges with standard mammography.

The product's FDA Premarket Approval validates its clinical utility, while its integrated AI capabilities (Verisound AI and AI Assistant) deliver meaningful technological advantages: 40% faster scanning, improved image quality, and streamlined reading workflows. These efficiency gains are particularly valuable amid healthcare staffing shortages.

This launch strengthens GE HealthCare's position in the women's health segment and aligns with the industry-wide shift toward AI-enhanced diagnostic tools. The technology's ability to improve detection of early-stage cancers while potentially reducing unnecessary biopsies offers both clinical and economic value propositions to healthcare providers.

The planned global rollout throughout 2025 indicates confidence in international market demand, with patient experience data (100% recommendation rate) suggesting strong potential for adoption. This product represents a meaningful advancement in GE HealthCare's ultrasound portfolio and addresses the growing need for supplemental screening technologies in dense breast cancer detection.

Healthcare Business Strategist

This product launch strategically positions GE HealthCare in the high-growth women's health diagnostics market by addressing a significant unmet need. With approximately one-third of cancers in dense breasts going undetected by mammography alone, the Invenia ABUS Premium fills a critical detection gap for a substantial patient population.

The dual focus on clinical outcomes and operational efficiency is particularly noteworthy. The AI-driven features tackle two key healthcare pain points simultaneously: improving early detection rates and enhancing workflow productivity with 40% faster scanning and streamlined reading capabilities. This value proposition should resonate with healthcare systems facing both quality metrics and staffing constraints.

From a competitive standpoint, GE HealthCare is strengthening its comprehensive breast care portfolio with this FDA-approved technology. The emphasis on patient comfort with the Reverse Curve transducer design and selectable compression levels addresses the growing importance of patient experience in healthcare purchasing decisions.

While financial projections aren't provided, the technology's potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies creates a compelling economic argument alongside its clinical benefits. The global rollout strategy throughout 2025 indicates the company sees significant international market potential, with the product already gaining visibility at major radiology conferences. This launch reinforces GE HealthCare's commitment to innovation in its ultrasound division.

• The latest Invenia ABUS is designed to deliver optimal outcomes with its innovative, patient-friendly, and efficient AI-driven technology
• Invenia ABUS Premium features new integrated Verisound AI and AI Assistant, which ensure faster and reproducible scanning and reading with extraordinary image quality
• The non-invasive ultrasound technology, equipped with a novel Reverse Curve transducer and separate acquisition and reading capabilities, is built to enhance patient care

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) announced the launch of Invenia™ Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) Premium, the latest 3D ultrasound offering advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative features to drive faster*, reproducible supplemental screening and streamline exam readings on patients with dense breasts.

Approximately 71% of cancers occur in dense breasts.¹ According to studies across the U.S. and Europe, 40% of women² and 70% of Asian women³ have dense breast tissue, making them four to six times more likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis.⁴ Early detection of breast cancer is critical, yet about one-third⁵ of cancers in dense breasts may go undetected by a mammogram, as the cancer can be masked within the dense tissue. There is rapidly growing evidence supporting ABUS as a valuable tool for detecting cancer in dense breasts because it provides clearer and more detailed images and has been shown to improve the sensitivity of detecting invasive cancer in dense breasts when added to mammography.^6,7,8,9

“Women with dense breasts often face poorer outcomes due to malignancies detected at later, more advanced stages. Invenia ABUS Premium equipped with AI has the potential to optimize clinicians’ screening capabilities, enabling them to detect even small, early-stage cancers with a high degree of confidence in women with dense breasts,” said Karley Yoder, CEO of Comprehensive Care Ultrasound, GE HealthCare. “Invenia ABUS Premium is designed to help deliver the best possible outcomes for patients while also prioritizing the patient experience with features to improve scan speed and enhance comfort during an exam.”

Invenia ABUS Premium is designed to manage high patient volumes along the breast care pathway, while delivering extraordinary image quality and boosting clinical confidence. The new Verisound™ AI tools can help clinicians work smarter and more efficiently, featuring Scan Quality Assessment for immediate qualitative evaluation during the exam for proper breast coverage and positioning, and Auto Nipple Detection for consistent nipple marker positions. The new Fast Scan tool increases scan speed by up to 40%*, while cSound™ Imageformer capabilities automatically create focus at every pixel, ensuring consistent, high-resolution image quality and reproducibility.

For fast, streamlined reading, physicians can use Invenia ABUS Viewer with AI Assistant** to quickly review and interpret patient exams either from their practice or remotely. The integration of AI tools** for enhanced review of ABUS 3D datasets harness intelligent algorithms to assist in detecting and characterizing breast lesions. These tools can help improve clinical confidence and reading efficiency, addressing staff shortages.

The ABUS Premium’s non-invasive design significantly enhances the patient experience, with a patient experience study showing that 100% of women would recommend an ABUS exam to their best friend.¹⁰ This advanced ABUS technology also has the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies by providing specific image features to distinguish and detect malignant tumors, enabling clinicians to escalate care sooner.⁹ Additionally, it reduces patient exposure to radiation or contrast injection as it doesn't use any iodinated contrast agent or ionizing radiation. The new Reverse Curve™ transducer follows the contour of a woman’s breast anatomy, while selectable compression levels provide personalized comfort during the exam.

"As an early adopter of ABUS, I've experienced the entire evolution of this technology. The Invenia ABUS Premium is superior* with its special AI features, which ensure the breast volume is captured and offer automatic nipple annotation, reducing scanning time and streamlining clinical workflow," said Athina Vourtsis, MD, PhD, Chief Director and Founder of Athena Medical, Athens, Greece; Founding President of the Hellenic Breast Imaging Society; European Liaison and Member of the Medical Advisory Board of DenseBreast-Info. "The new Reverse Curve transducer makes the examination more patient friendly, and it is much more comfortable. There has been great improvement in image quality with less shadowing, and the structures behind the area of the nipple are seen more clearly, providing radiologists with greater diagnostic confidence."

Invenia ABUS Premium will be launching in key countries throughout 2025 and received Premarket Approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Invenia ABUS Premium was featured at the 2025 European Congress of Radiology (ECR) and will also be showcased at the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCoBC) 2025 and 2025 Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) Symposium.

Learn more about GE HealthCare’s Invenia ABUS Premium here: Invenia ABUS Breast Imaging Ultrasound | GE HealthCare (United States)

*Compared to Invenia^TM ABUS 2.0.

**AI Assistant available third-party tools include QVCAD™, Koios DS™ Breast, BU-CAD™ and MONCAD ABS. Not available in all regions.

About GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.

GE HealthCare is a trusted partner and leading global healthcare solutions provider, innovating medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and integrated, cloud-first AI-enabled solutions, services and data analytics. We aim to make hospitals and health systems more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across care pathways. Together, our Imaging, Advanced Visualization Solutions, Patient Care Solutions and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from screening and diagnosis to therapy and monitoring. We are a $19.7 billion business with approximately 53,000 colleagues working to create a world where healthcare has no limits.

GE HealthCare is proud to be among 2025 Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies™.

Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and Insights for the latest news, or visit our website https://www.gehealthcare.com for more information.

1 Arora N, King TA, Jacks LM., Ann Surg Onc, 2010; 17:S211-18.

2 Pisano et al. NEJM 2005; 353: 1773.

3 Ref. Ellison-Loschman, et al, PLOS ONE July 2013.

4 Boyd NF et al. NEJM 2007; 356: 227

5 Mandelson et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 2000; 92:1081-1087.

6 FDA PMA P110006 summary of safety and effectiveness

7 Brem RF, Tabár L, et.al. Radiology. 2015 Mar; 274(3): 663-73.

8 Stempel et.al., Journal of Breast Imaging 2024, Vol XX, No. XX, 1-10.

9 Wenhui Ren et. al, Elsevier Acad Radiol 2023; 30:S114–S126.

10 Shah et.al. Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography DOI: 10.1177/8756479313476920 2013.

 

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GE HealthCare Media Contact

Eric Tatro

GE HealthCare

+1 312 459 6140

Eric.Tatro@gehealthcare.com

Source: GE HealthCare

FAQ

What are the key AI features of GEHC's new Invenia ABUS Premium system?

The system features Verisound AI with Scan Quality Assessment, Auto Nipple Detection, and AI Assistant for lesion detection and characterization, enabling 40% faster scanning speeds.

When will GEHC's Invenia ABUS Premium be available in markets?

The system will launch in key markets throughout 2025 and has already received FDA Premarket Approval.

What percentage of breast cancers occur in dense breast tissue according to GEHC's data?

Approximately 71% of breast cancers occur in dense breasts, with traditional mammograms potentially missing one-third of cases.

How does the new GEHC Invenia ABUS Premium improve patient experience?

It features a Reverse Curve transducer that follows breast contours, offers selectable compression levels, and requires no radiation or contrast agents. Studies show 100% of women would recommend it.

What is the market potential for GEHC's Invenia ABUS Premium?

The system targets a significant market, with 40% of women globally and 70% of Asian women having dense breast tissue, who are 4-6 times more likely to develop breast cancer.