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Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | January 31, 2019
For example, during 2018, more than 50 new multimillion strategic partnerships were signed, including an agreement with the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust in the U.K. for imaging and cardiology solutions across their sites. In the Netherlands deals were done with the Erasmus University Medical Center; in Rotterdam, a multi-year partnership was formed to supply hospitalwide ultrasound needs.
In terms of global growth, “positive momentum” continued for diagnostic imaging needs in China, including CFDA approval for the advanced Vereos Digital PET/CT system.
The company is also realigning its internal business structures to better meet customer needs, van Houten said during the call, noting that, “effective as of January 1, 2019, this will lead to changes in the composition of our reporting segments. The most notable changes are the shift to Sleep & Respiratory Care business from the Personal Health segment to the renamed Connected Care segment. The Connected Care businesses focus on patient care solutions, advanced analytics and patient and workflow optimization, both inside and outside the hospital, and aim to unlock synergies from integrating and optimizing patient care pathways, leveraging provider, payer, patient business models to positively impact population health and value-based healthcare.
“Additionally, we will shift most of the Healthcare Informatics business, consisting of informatics related to diagnostics and treatment planning from the Connected Care segment, to the Diagnosis & Treatment segment. This segment unites the businesses related to the promise of precision diagnosis and disease pathway selection and the businesses related to image-guided minimally-invasive therapies. Recognizing the importance of an investment in the Image-Guided Therapy business, I'm happy that Bert van Meurs has joined our executive committee reporting directly to me. The Personal Health businesses will focus on healthy living and primary preventative care.”
Philips made news earlier in January when it unveiled the Azurion angiography system with FlexArm positioning, designed for hybrid ORs for multiple specialties, including minimally-invasive cardiac procedures.
The system, powered by what the company calls a “smart kinematic engine,” moves on eight different axes, controlled with a single “Axsys” controller, allowing it to come in at any angle around the table, said Ronald Tabaksblat, business leader for image-guided therapy systems at Philips.
“As procedures have gotten more and more complex, it’s becoming harder to find room for people around the table,” Tabaksblat told HCB News. “Everybody can have his or her preferred location around the table and the imaging equipment can come in where the physician needs it, not where the technology dictates.”
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