GE HealthCare Technologies Inc has received a grant of more than $44 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop AI-assisted ultrasound technology, the company said on Monday.

The grant will facilitate development of AI-assisted ultrasound imaging auto-assessment applications and tools to help address maternal and fetal health and respiratory diseases.

The X-ray and ultrasound machine maker added that the grant is aimed at expanding access to high quality care around the world with an emphasis on low- and middle-income countries.

Caption Health, acquired by GE HealthCare earlier this year, will design the technology to run across a range of ultrasound devices and probes, including lower-cost handheld devices.

(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Shailesh Kuber)