Philips expands network of clinical partners to set new standard of care for the early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer

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Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today provided an update on the growing global clinical interest in its innovative lung cancer diagnosis and treatment solution – Philips Lung Suite – which is underlined by its rapid roll-out with new clinical partners. Some of the new innovating partner sites are: Royal Brompton Hospital – London UK; Hôpital Erasme – Brussels, Belgium; Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (ZOL), Genk Medical Center – Genk, Belgium; Carmel Medical Center – Haifa, Israel. Rouen University Hospital – Rouen, France is also planning to start using the innovation. Several healthcare providers have already successfully diagnosed their first patients using Lung Suite, which works in combination with the company’s Image Guided Therapy System – Azurion.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death worldwide, claiming the lives of 1.8 million people per year [1]. More than 60% of lung cancer patients are diagnosed at a late stage, reducing their odds of survival [2]. Philips Lung Suite is a revolutionary 3D real-time imaging platform that addresses the need for earlier precision diagnosis and minimally-invasive treatment with an all-in-one platform that enables doctors to perform biopsy, ablation, marking of lesions, and/or thoracic surgery procedures in the same room, allowing patients to be both diagnosed and treated. Its ability to locate and characterize small-sized lesions could significantly enhance future lung cancer care.

“Philips Lung Suite has been shown to increase the accuracy of lung cancer biopsy procedures, improving results for patients and offering the potential to immediately treat early-stage lung cancer patients,” said Karim Boussebaa, General Manager, Image Guided Therapy Systems at Philips. “These new partners add to our rapidly expanding global ecosystem of clinical partners who are pushing innovation forward, with of the goal of offering patients diagnosis and minimally-invasive treatment in a single procedure, improving patient outcomes and their quality of life.”

Philips Lung Suite provides advanced real-time 3D imaging with augmented fluoroscopy on the company’s Image Guided Therapy Systems – such as Azurion, combined with dedicated software. With Philips’ Cone Beam CT imaging, the X-ray detector rotates around the patient to generate a CT-like image in around five seconds, providing clinicians with a high-resolution 3D view of the target lesion and other anatomical structures. This allows the clinician performing the biopsy procedure to be continually guided by high-quality real-time imaging to advance a catheter towards the lesion through a bronchoscope. Once done, its position can be confirmed in real-time using the same imaging modality, and a biopsy sample can be taken.

“In the fast-growing world of intraoperative imaging, cone-beam CT remains the gold standard for augmented fluoroscopy and lesion confirmation. Using Lung Suite, no nodule can hide, regardless of anatomical position or radiologic characteristic, making it a valuable tool for both diagnosis and future ablation procedures,” said Dr. Amir Abramovich, MD., Director of Interventional Pulmonology at the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel.

“Cone-beam CT is the critical step towards targeting sub-20 mm nodules and an essential tool for the transition towards bronchoscopic microwave ablation of peripheral lung lesions,” said Professor Shah Pallav, MD., consultant respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK.

“The advanced cone beam CT imaging combined with augmented fluoroscopy of Philips Lung Suite gives us the confidence to safely reach and biopsy difficult-to-access peripheral lung nodules,” said Maarten Criel, MD., Pulmonologist at ZOL Genk Medical Center, Belgium.

Dr. Kelvin Lau, consultant and lead thoracic surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, successfully diagnosed and treated lung cancer patients using cone beam CT for biopsy, bronchoscopic microwave ablation and for precision image-guided surgery, all in one procedure, during initial clinical trial. Advanced imaging with Philips Lung suite is used during procedures for real-time 3D image guidance and confirmation. Additional clinical trials at various hospitals are expected to start soon.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, 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 generated 2021 sales of EUR 17.2 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries.