Powered by AI, data-driven insights, and precision-led innovation, MedTech is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history, unlocking innovations that are making care more predictive, preventive, and deeply personalised. The next chapter of health care innovation relies on collaboration between human expertise and artificial intelligence to transform possibilities into reality. The imperative question that stands before India – what will it take for India to become a global innovation hub for MedTech?
Projections suggest India’s share of the global medical devices market could rise from 1.65% to 10–12% over the next 25 years. Today, the opportunity is to build on these strengths and move beyond being a manufacturing destination to becoming a hub for health care innovation, where solutions are designed, developed, and scaled for global impact.
India’s health care landscape presents unique challenges in terms of scale, diversity, and accessibility. Solutions designed to address these complexities have the potential to create global relevance. What works at scale in India can often provide valuable models for health care systems worldwide.
How? The answer in a few words— integration across the entire care continuum. Health care is gradually shifting away from isolated data silos and single devices toward interconnected, interoperable systems that enable smooth data flow, combining imaging, patient records, and clinical insights.
We need connected ecosystems that bring together imaging, software, cloud, data, and AI to enable better clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. Take, for instance, cloud-based imaging, tele-ICU networks, and integrated data platforms are already expanding the reach of critical care beyond urban hospitals, bringing high-level clinical services closer to patients’ homes. India is well positioned to lead this shift.
{{/usCountry}}We need connected ecosystems that bring together imaging, software, cloud, data, and AI to enable better clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. Take, for instance, cloud-based imaging, tele-ICU networks, and integrated data platforms are already expanding the reach of critical care beyond urban hospitals, bringing high-level clinical services closer to patients’ homes. India is well positioned to lead this shift.
{{/usCountry}}The explosion of clinical data and medical imaging volumes is unlocking a new frontier of AI-enabled care. In diagnostic imaging alone, clinicians must analyse vast amounts of increasingly complex data while balancing growing workloads. AI has the potential to support this process by helping improve workflow efficiency, enhance image quality, surface critical findings, and enable earlier disease detection.
At GE HealthCare, we are investing in health care-specific foundation models designed to accelerate advancements in medical imaging. These large-scale adaptable neural networks can be fine-tuned for tasks such as ultrasound image segmentation, X-ray report generation, and 3D MRI analysis. Unlike traditional AI models that primarily rely on 2D images, next-generation foundation models trained on multimodal and 3D MRI data have the capability to provide deeper insights into complex anatomical structures. The vision is simple yet powerful— helping care teams see more in a single scan and enabling more informed clinical decisions. Innovations such as AI-powered image reconstruction and acceleration technologies are already helping improve image quality, reduce scan times, enhance patient experiences, and support diagnostic confidence. The objective is not to replace clinicians but to augment their expertise, enabling them to focus more time on patient care and complex decision-making
As adoption accelerates, responsible AI must remain central to innovation. Transparency, trust, patient privacy, and clinical validation will be essential to ensuring that these technologies deliver meaningful and equitable impact.
We already have the foundation in place with a robust engineering ecosystem, growing R&D investments, world-class technical talent, expanding digital infrastructure, and an increasing focus on patient-centred innovation. What is needed now is continued investment in deep-tech capabilities, stronger industry-academia collaboration, and a long-term commitment to responsible innovation. Collaborations between industry, academic institutions, health care providers, and policymakers can accelerate the development of solutions that are locally relevant and globally scalable.
By bringing together engineering excellence, clinical expertise, and digital innovation, India has a unique opportunity to shape a future where health care is more connected, intelligent, and equitable. The question is no longer whether India can contribute to the future of health care innovation. The real question is how quickly we can lead it.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Girish Raghavan, CTO, Women’s Health & X-Ray and VP, Engineering GE HealthCare Technology Centre, India.