AMSTERDAM, February 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
- Developed in collaboration with leading hospitals
worldwide, Philips Azurion is an innovative
image-guided therapy platform that allows clinicians
to easily and confidently perform a wide range of routine and
complex procedures, helping them to optimize interventional lab
performance and provide superior care
- Azurion is powered by ConnectOS, Philips'
newly developed operating system to
optimize system integration which
features an
easy-to-use intuitive
user interface combined with real-time
information on multiple work spots within the
interventional lab
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a leader in health
technology, today announced the global launch of Azurion, its next
generation image-guided therapy platform, which forms the new core
of its integrated solutions portfolio for the fast growing
image-guided therapy market. As a leader in this market, Philips
offers integrated solutions comprising interventional imaging
technologies and planning and navigation software combined with
interventional devices - including catheters for diagnosis and
therapy - and a broad range of services, all aimed at helping
clinicians to provide superior care at predictable costs.
(Photo:
http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/470877/Azurion_Therapy.jpg
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(Photo:
http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/470878/Azurion1.jpg )
Following the acquisition of Volcano in 2015, via which Philips
has become a leader in advanced catheters for diagnosis and
therapy, the company is now further cementing its overall
leadership in the EUR 5 billion
image-guided therapy market with one of its largest global product
launches in recent years. Philips' Azurion image-guided therapy
platform for interventional labs is the result of a multi-year
development program conducted in close collaboration with leading
clinicians in the field. This next generation platform features a
state-of-the-art ergonomic design with an easy-to-use intuitive
user interface, enabling clinicians to swiftly and confidently
perform a wide range of routine and complex procedures in the
interventional lab.
With the rapid growth of image-guided therapy procedures,
hospitals and health systems are increasingly faced with the need
to control costs, while improving their standards of care. Azurion
has been designed to address these challenges and is equipped with
new workflow options and performance dashboards, as well as an
upcoming range of productivity improvement services.
Azurion is Philips' next generation image-guided therapy
platform and the new core of its integrated solutions portfolio.
Azurion supports a full range of configurations across a broad
spectrum of image-guided therapy procedures. These include
configurations for high volume routine procedures and flexible
configurations for advanced procedures. Harnessing vital procedural
information from various sources, such as imaging systems,
interventional devices, navigation tools and patient health
records, Azurion provides interventional staff members with the
control and information they need to perform procedures
efficiently.
The Azurion platform also features over 1,000 new components,
including an enhanced flat-panel detector, and Philips' newly
developed ConnectOS operating system for the seamless
integration of real-time information from all relevant technologies
in the interventional lab. All of these components work together to
deliver high image quality at ultra-low X-ray dose and real-time
image processing on multiple work spots within the interventional
lab. Parallel working enables the team of clinicians to complete
different tasks simultaneously in the interventional lab, saving
valuable time without compromising quality of care. Azurion
features procedure cards that allow clinicians to pre-program
routine tasks and user preferences, helping to minimize preparation
errors and further reducing preparation and procedure time.
Philips has pioneered a steady stream of innovations in planning
and navigation software for areas such as vascular surgery (e.g.
VesselNavigator), interventional cardiology (e.g. EchoNavigator),
interventional oncology (e.g. EmboGuide), and interventional
neuroradiology (e.g. AneurysmFlow). All these advanced
interventional tools integrate seamlessly into the Azurion platform
to support the clinical workflow.
Driven by their benefits for patients and care providers,
minimally-invasive therapies, such as the catheter-based treatment
of certain tumors, aneurysms, obstructed blood vessels, heart
rhythm disorders and defective heart valves, continue to grow fast.
In addition to reduced patient trauma and shorter recovery times,
such procedures also have the benefit of allowing the treatment of
patients who would not be able to withstand the trauma of open
surgery. However, during such procedures, clinicians cannot
directly see and feel the organs they are working on. Effective
imaging, measurement and navigation technologies are therefore key
to guiding minimally-invasive procedures. At the heart of the
interventional lab, these technologies allow identification and
visualization of target organs and tissues, the operation of
interventional devices, and the placement of implants, leading to
improved chances of therapy success.
"For over 30 years, we've pioneered minimally-invasive
treatments that help our patients get back to their daily lives,"
said Barry T. Katzen, MD, founder
and Chief Medical Executive of the Miami Cardiac & Vascular
Institute, Baptist Health South Florida (U.S.). "The imaging
environment is critical to perform such procedures efficiently and
effectively. As an interventionalist, we want to be in the cockpit,
similar to a pilot in an airplane, where we have control of
everything we need and have all the relevant functions at our
finger tips. Philips' next generation image-guided therapy platform
just takes it to a whole other level and allows interventionalists
to accomplish the procedures quicker and more efficiently, which
benefits the patient."
"As a leader in image-guided therapy, we have been driving
continuous innovation to address rising patient volumes and
increased procedure complexity," said Bert
van Meurs, Business Leader Image Guided Therapy at Philips.
"Hundreds of Philips developers, engineers and designers and dozens
of our clinical partners across the world have collaborated to
completely redesign the heart of our portfolio. With the launch of
our new Azurion platform, which was designed to optimize system
integration and lab performance, we can deliver new turnkey
solutions that support our customers in maintaining high standards
of quality and patient care at predictable costs."
"We are on an exciting journey to strengthen the Tampere Heart
Hospital's position as a Northern European center of excellence for
cardiac care," said Aki Haukilahti, Executive Vice President and
CFO of Heart Hospital, Tampere
University Hospital (Finland). "As part of our long-term strategic
partnership with Philips, we have collaborated on a turnkey
solution based on the new Azurion product family. With this
solution, Philips provides us with advanced technologies and an
excellent user experience, combined with services for guaranteed
uptime, seamless integration into our hospital workflows, staff
training and education, and enhancement of our productivity. This
enables our staff to fully focus on what they do best - providing
superior care to our patients."
Click on this link or type http://www.philips.com/azurion in
your internet browser to visit the Philips Azurion website.
About Royal
Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX:
PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving
people's health and enabling better outcomes across
the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to
diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced
technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to
deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader
in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient
monitoring and health informatics, as well as
in consumer health and home care. Philips' health
technology portfolio generated 2016 sales of EUR 17.4 billion and employs approximately 71,000
employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News
about Philips can be found at
http://www.philips.com/newscenter.