MKE Lifestyle, a publication specializing in coverage in the Milwaukee metro area, interviewed Scott Reeder, MD, PhD and Thomas Grist, MD for the article “Partnerships and Breakthroughs” published January 27, 2025. Focused on Wisconsin’s recent Tech Hub designation and the University of Wisconsin’s longstanding collaboration with GE HealthCare, the article also featured GE HealthCare VP-Advanced Technology Jay Hill.
Both the University of Wisconsin–Madison and GE HealthCare were key members of the Biohealth Tech Hub consortium. In October 2023, the consortium earned Wisconsin a Regional Tech Hub designation and received a strategy grant to implement biohealth strategies. In July 2024, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) granted $49 million in Phase 2 funding to the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, an initiative to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine.
“The Regional Tech Hub program is intended to catalyze investment in technologies that are essential to economic growth, national security, and job creation,” said Dr. Reeder. “In Wisconsin, the tech hub designation will capitalize on our global leadership in health care technologies to position Wisconsin as a leader in ‘precision health,’ or personalized medicine.”
In November 2023, GE HealthCare and UW–Madison announced a 10-year research collaboration, expanding on a partnership that has spanned over 40 years. Together, their previous work led to several important advancements, including low-dose CT protocols and early detection methods for liver disease.
“Our initial collaboration focused on the co-development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) but has expanded to computed tomography (CT) and molecular imaging, and more recently to artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital health,” Dr. Grist said.
The designation of Wisconsin as a Regional Tech Hub for biohealth and the 10-year expansion of the ongoing GE HealthCare and UW–Madison partnership provides opportunities to ensure our state continues to be a leader in precision health.
“Rapid advances are being made in all imaging modalities,” said Dr. Reeder. “The use of artificial intelligence and its use to advance medical imaging at all stages in the imaging value chain – from scheduling MRI appointments, shorter exam times, new image reconstruction methods, through automated detection of disease – will be a major focus of the partnership in the future.”
Read the full article, “Partnerships and Breakthroughs,” on the MKE Lifestyle website and gmtoday.com.