The Challenge
As GE HealthCare sought to accelerate the development of next-generation MRI technologies, the company recognized that breakthrough innovation increasingly depends on collaboration. Scientists, researchers, clinicians, and healthcare providers must work closely together to advance medical imaging and move discoveries from concept to patient care.
To support the next phase of MRI innovation, GE HealthCare sought a partnership that would unite leading healthcare institutions, research organizations, and industry partners in a shared environment focused on improving patient outcomes.
While evaluating potential locations, GE HealthCare found those advantages converging in one place: Ohio.
The Solution
GE HealthCare chose Cincinnati as the home for its Imaging Research & Development Center because of the unique opportunity to collaborate with leading institutions across the Ohio Discovery Corridor.
Located on the University of Cincinnati medical campus, the facility brings together GE HealthCare, the University of Cincinnati, UC Health, and Cincinnati Children's to advance MRI innovation. The partnership combines industry expertise with world-class clinical, research, and academic capabilities to develop new imaging technologies that improve diagnosis, enhance patient comfort, and support more personalized care.
Equipped with an advanced GE HealthCare SIGNAâ„¢ Premier 3T MRI scanner, the center is among only a handful worldwide specifically designed to foster direct collaboration between industry and academic medicine. The project also builds on GE HealthCare's longstanding Ohio presence, including its MRI manufacturing and research operations in Northeast Ohio, creating a connection between research, development, manufacturing, and clinical application across the state.
Key Factors in Choosing Ohio Included:
The opportunity to collaborate directly with the University of Cincinnati, UC Health, and Cincinnati Children's through the Ohio Discovery Corridor
A connected ecosystem that accelerates the path from research and development to clinical application
Access to nationally recognized healthcare systems, clinicians, and researchers
Ohio's growing reputation as a center for healthcare innovation and advanced medical research
A strong pipeline of STEM talent and healthcare professionals
GE HealthCare's existing manufacturing and R&D footprint in Ohio
The Impact
The Imaging Research & Development Center creates new opportunities to advance imaging science and improve patient care. Researchers will explore technologies designed to improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce scan times, support earlier disease detection, and expand access to advanced imaging.
The center also supports workforce development by creating opportunities for engineers, technologists, clinicians, and researchers to collaborate in an environment that bridges academic medicine and industry-led innovation.
Strategic Advantage
For GE HealthCare, Ohio offered something few markets can match: a statewide innovation ecosystem built around collaboration.
Through the Ohio Discovery Corridor, companies can access the combined strengths of world-class universities, healthcare systems, research institutions, and industry partners across Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, that meant the opportunity to work directly alongside the University of Cincinnati, UC Health, and Cincinnati Children's—three organizations with complementary expertise in research, clinical care, and medical education.
The Imaging Research & Development Center demonstrates how the Ohio Discovery Corridor creates value by bringing together institutions whose combined strengths can accelerate innovation, develop talent, and advance new technologies more quickly than any organization could alone.
At GE HealthCare, we believe collaboration is a powerful way to unite industry and academic expertise and accelerate the translation of MRI innovation into clinical reality. With the capabilities of SIGNAâ„¢ Premier 3T helping drive exciting new MRI research here, we have an opportunity to ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients.
— Kelly Londy, President & CEO, MR and Women's Health, GE HealthCare