Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Contact: 561.316.3330

Philips Receives Grant to Improve Quality & Accessibility of Maternal Care in Low & Middle Income Countries

Royal Philips today announced it has received a USD 15.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based application suite to improve the quality and accessibility of obstetric care in low- and middle-income countries, especially in underserved communities.

By helping front-line healthcare workers such as midwives to identify potential problems in pregnancy at an early stage, the project aims to significantly reduce the number of women who die as a result of pregnancy – currently around 830 women every day worldwide [1] – while reducing fetal mortality and morbidity.

The project plans to develop an application suite that will be deployed on Philips Handheld Ultrasound – Lumify – which is currently in widespread use in community-based mother and child care programs around the world. It also builds on the expertise of the Philips Foundation, providing access to quality healthcare for underserved communities worldwide, including a program in Kenya to educate midwives to deliver ultrasound-based antenatal pregnancy screening in village clinics, while receiving telehealth support from radiologists at distance.

“Philips is a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, with many of its AI-based solutions already FDA approved,” said Joseph Frassica, Head of Philips Research Americas and Chief Medical Officer, Philips North America. “This effort to use AI to help deliver high quality pre-natal care to the vast number of women in the world who cannot easily access it is a perfect example of what we believe AI should be used for – empowering healthcare professionals to help them deliver faster and more efficient care to help improve patient outcomes.”

Enhancing skills of midwives in low and middle-income countries

Handheld diagnostic ultrasound platforms like Philips Lumify offer an affordable solution to assess pregnancy, while providing a portable option to be used in community-based mother and child care programs. However, front-line midwives often lack the required training and ultrasound experience to make a confident diagnosis. AI-enabled applications have the potential to bridge this gap by providing assistance to acquire the right images and then assist with interpretation of those images. The suite of AI-based obstetrics applications will help front-line healthcare workers to identify high-risk pregnancies that can be clinically managed to prevent adverse birth outcomes.

AI-guided assessment of gestational age and fetal development

The World Health Organization recommends at least one ultrasound scan before 24 weeks of gestation for pregnant women to evaluate gestational age with greater confidence than a traditional last menstrual period estimate [2]. A better estimate of gestational age can reduce the number of induced labors and, as a result, help improve the birthing experience for a large number of women. Appropriate targeting of maternal and neonatal care can also help to prevent complications of prematurity. Currently, no ultrasound device is commercially available that assists non-expert users by automating image acquisition or image interpretation for a comprehensive set of obstetrics measurements, limiting access to early fetal ultrasound scans.

“Philips Handheld Ultrasound – Lumify – is a great example of how Philips is bringing diagnostic insights to the point of care to deliver on the ‘quadruple aim’ of healthcare: better health outcomes, an improved experience for patients and staff, and a lower cost of care,” said Matthijs Groot Wassink, General Manager for Access and Obstetric Ultrasound at Philips. “Supported through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, we now have the opportunity to extend those enhanced patient and staff experiences to pregnant women and midwives throughout the world, while at the same time reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and making high quality prenatal care much more affordable in low-resource settings.”

Philips and the Philips Foundation have several ongoing programs to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in underserved communities, including a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and the Government of Republic of the Congo and with Aga Khan University’s Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health in East Africa.

Philips is a leader in ultrasound solutions with a large global installed base and a strong track record of industry-first innovations in areas such as 3D imaging of the heart, AI-powered quantification tools, and ultra-mobile portable ultrasound solutions. Its ultrasound portfolio supports the effective and efficient delivery of care across a broad range of clinical specialties including radiology, cardiology, point-of-care and obstetrics/gynecology. Visit Philips Ultrasound Systems portfolio for more information, and join Philips at RSNA 2021 where the company will spotlight its latest portfolio of connected radiology workflow solutions and smart connected imaging systems to increase efficiency and diagnostic confidence in precision care and treatment.

Medical Device News Magazinehttps://infomeddnews.com
Our publication is dedicated to bringing our readers the latest medical device news. We are proud to boast that our subscribers include medical specialists, device industry executives, investors, and other allied health professionals, as well as patients who are interested in researching various medical devices. We hope you find value in our easy-to-read publication and its overall purpose and objectives! Medical Device News Magazine is a division of PTM Healthcare Marketing, Inc. Pauline T. Mayer is the managing editor.

More News!

Amber Implants Announces Start of Clinical Trial with VCFix® Spinal System

This first-in-human clinical trial will assess the safety and effectiveness of the VCFix® Spinal System implant for patients suffering from vertebral compression fractures. The implant is provided with a user-friendly, single-use sterile surgical kit, ensuring perfect traceability and reducing the risk of infection. 

Theradaptive Awarded DOD Clinical Trial Award of up to $7.4 Million

Commenting on the award, Theradaptive CEO and founder, Luis Alvarez, Ph.D. said, "The CDMRP Clinical Trial Award comes at a pivotal time for our company as we prepare for first in human clinical trials. Veterans and service members are disproportionally likely to suffer from traumatic extremity injuries or spinal degeneration and disc injury, and currently lack efficacious treatments with very few options. We have already demonstrated superior outcomes in preclinical studies, showing the promise of our technology. With this CTA award we are one step closer to providing new and improved therapies to patients and aligning with CDMRP's strategic goal of trying to increase post-injury quality of life by halting or slowing orthopedic disease progression in servicemembers and veterans."

Lipogems® Announces 140 Independent Peer Reviewed Publications with 5 Years of Follow up in Orthopaedics

Giorgio Ninzoli, President of Lipogems International. "The gold standard for evidence is 1 year follow up and we are excited to report 5 years follow up with positive results after a single injection of MicroFat."

Study Outcomes Could Provide Insights Into New Targeted Treatments to Manage this Challenging Disease

The study aims to determine if immediate biological preservation of patient-derived chordoma tumor tissue, collected intraoperatively and implanted for serial sampling in translational research, will provide new insights into the biological weakness of the disease and contribute to developing improved treatment therapies reports NICO.

Study Validates Lunit AI as a Game-Changer, Poised to Replace One Human Reader in Breast Cancer Screening

Utilizing Lunit INSIGHT MMG, an FDA-cleared and CE-marked AI solution for mammography analysis, this research backs AI's potential to replace one human reader under Europe's double reading guideline and underscores its capacity to alleviate the strain on radiologists.

By using this website you agree to accept Medical Device News Magazine Privacy Policy