GE and Intel Corporation have entered into an alliance to market and develop home-based health technologies. As part of the alliance, the two technology majors will invest $250 million over the next five years for the research and product development of home-based health technologies. The objective is to market and develop innovative technologies for independent living and chronic disease management.

Under the alliance, GE Healthcare will sell and market the Intel Health Guide, a care management tool designed for health care professionals who manage patients with chronic conditions. With the increase of people with chronic conditions and an ageing population, there is a need to extend care from the hospital to the home. GE Healthcare and Intel are helping to address these pressing issues.

The market for telehealth and home health monitoring is predicted to grow from $3 billion in 2009 to an estimated $7.7 billion by 2012.

Under the global product research and development alliance, the two companies will combine their complementary skill sets and extensive research resources to accelerate the innovation and commercialization of next-generation home health technologies. Both companies also plan to expand their current development programs in home health and independent living technologies to include new areas such as fall prevention, medication compliance, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and personal wellness monitoring. The combination of Intel's leading capabilities in ethnographic research and technology development combined with GE's world-class expertise and global distribution strengths in healthcare IT, electronic medical records, critical care and passive monitoring is a strong strategic fit.