Royal Philips has introduced SmartIQ, a coronary imaging technology for its Azurion image-guided therapy platform that aims to improve image quality while reducing radiation exposure during cardiac procedures.

The Amsterdam-based company said the technology was developed with cardiovascular centers to address a long-standing challenge in interventional cardiology: balancing image clarity with radiation dose for patients and staff.

SmartIQ includes an ultralow-dose protocol for coronary procedures that uses more than 50% less X-ray radiation compared with the lowest dose settings currently available on Philips’ ClarityIQ platform, according to the company. Philips said the protocol is intended to allow coronary cine imaging at fluoroscopy dose levels, depending on the clinical setting and imaging system.
“With this new imaging technology, we can go really low in dose and achieve even better image quality,” said Dr. Mark Winkens, interventional cardiologist at Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg, the Netherlands. “It’s a win-win.”

Philips plans to showcase SmartIQ at EuroPCR 2026 in Paris this week, where physicians involved in early clinical use will present multicenter experience with the system.

The first pilot study evaluating SmartIQ was recently published in the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (JSCAI). According to Philips, the blinded study found the technology received higher image-quality scores and was preferred in most image comparisons while maintaining or lowering radiation and contrast dose levels.

The company said SmartIQ builds on its ClarityIQ imaging platform, which has previously been linked to radiation reductions ranging from 23% to 83%, depending on the procedure type.

Philips is also conducting the RADIQAL trial, which is evaluating radiation dose reductions with SmartIQ compared with ClarityIQ while assessing procedural performance. The company said the study has completed enrollment at European sites and reached about 60% of its total enrollment target.

“Image quality is the foundation of every decision we make in the cath lab,” said Dr. Nicolaj Brejnholt Støttrup, interventional cardiologist at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. “SmartIQ has genuinely surprised us. It delivers the clarity we need at very low radiation dose levels.”

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