GE Healthcare has acquired U-Systems, a manufacturer of ultrasound products designed for breast imaging. Financial terms were not disclosed.

With operations in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Phoenix, U-Systems has developed the somo•v Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS), an ultrasound system that is FDA-approved for breast cancer screening as an adjunct to mammography for asymptomatic women with greater than 50 percent dense breast tissue and no prior breast interventions.

According to a published study in the New England Journal of Medicine, women with dense tissue in 75 percent or more of the breast have a risk of breast cancer four to six times as great as the risk among women with little or no dense tissue. (New England Journal of Medicine 2007;356:227-36M).

The somo•v ABUS received FDA approval in September for breast cancer screening in the U.S., and also has been indicated for screening in Canada and the European Union.