Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Nicklaus Children’s Health System, a nationally recognized leader in pediatric care, today announced a 10-year long-term strategic collaboration aimed at enhancing the patient and staff experience, enhancing outcomes and driving innovation in pediatric care. Serving over 500,000 patients a year, Nicklaus Children’s will adopt Philips technologies such as the Ingenia Ambition X MR and EPIQ CVx ultrasound, with AI-enabled radiology workflow solutions to reduce exam times and the need for rescans, while increasing diagnostic confidence, resulting in faster diagnosis and treatment for patients. The addition of patient experience technologies such as Philips Ambient Experience, Kitten Scanner and Scan Buddy App, will help put patients at ease during MRIs by showing them what to expect [1] and empowering them during the scan to help reduce the need for sedation [2] and further shortening exam times.
Nicklaus Children’s will be the first mobile adoption of the virtually helium-free [3] Philips Ambition X MR, which never needs Helium refilling, and can be discharged or re-energized quickly utilizing the EasySwitch solution, which allows for a controlled ramp down of the magnet, minimizing patient disruptions. With the addition of advanced SmartWorkflow and SmartSpeed MR technologies, staff can automate exam set-up and speed up exam time by up to 65% [4]. Experiential technologies such as the Philips Scan Buddy app, let patients learn about the MR procedure at home with playful characters, educational videos and games. Within the exam area, kids can play with the Kitten Scanner, a miniature MR that allows them to discover how it works. Finally, within the exam room itself, the Philips Ambient Experience with dynamic lighting, video projection, and sound further empowers children and helps put them at ease. Giving kids a sense of control over the situation improves the chance of a successful procedure and helps reduce the need for sedation.
“Philips shares our commitment to innovation, and patient safety and quality, and has taken the time to understand our care goals and the unique Nicklaus Children’s experience we work to deliver,” said Matthew A. Love, president, and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “This means understanding that you cannot just make a smaller version of an adult radiology solution for our patients, and that sick kids don’t necessarily stay still for studies. More importantly, if we can make things fun and give each child confidence about the procedure, we can alleviate some of the stress they and their families may be feeling as part of the treatment process.”
Nicklaus Children’s will enhance its cardiac care with the Philips EPIQ CVx and Compact 5500CV AI-enabled ultrasound systems which automate measurements and strain quantification to reduce quantification time by 51% [5] and help sonographers reduce exam time for 2D imaging by 20% [6] while reducing inter-operator variability. TrueVue imaging technology will help interpretation of structural heart disease progression and communication between echocardiographers and interventionalists, providing crucial clinical information, further increasing diagnostic confidence for improved procedure guidance and patient outcomes.
“Nicklaus Children’s understands that it isn’t just about the technology, it is about creating a healthy future for every child, giving their families and their staff the most precious commodity there is – time,” said Jeff DiLullo, Chief Region Leader for Philips North America. “This is why we develop these systems end-to-end with the smallest of patients in mind, working with child psychologists, not just engineers, to understand how we can improve their experience. Nicklaus Children’s is one of the best pediatric health systems with the highest survival rates in the nation, and if we can help their clinicians with pediatric coaching solutions and AI-enabled solutions to quickly find the answers they need to deliver exceptional outcomes, we can also give families hope.”
Sources
[1] Scan Buddy: A Gamified App to Prepare Children for an MRI Scan | SpringerLink
[2] Kitten Scanner reduces the use of sedation in pediatric MRI (sagepub.com)
[3] BlueSeal contains only a fraction of the liquid helium (< 0.5% or 7 liter)* *Compared to the Ingenia 1.5T ZBO magnet
[4] Compared to examinations without SmartSpeed imaging
[5] VM9 claims document 270472
[6] VMQ9.0 Claims Evidence Report