Industry news: Philips seeks to reduce time from heart attack to treatment

Vienna, Austria – At the European Society of Cardiology's (ESC) annual congress, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) demonstrated its HeartStart MRx Monitor/Defibrillator, which enables paramedics to transmit patient data from the ambulance to the hospital's emergency department. Upon reception of the data at the hospital, clinicians can use the ECG data to begin assessing what treatment the incoming patient will need. By allowing a hospital to begin organizing its resources before the patient arrives, the MRx can help reduce the time to treatment.

“As soon as a heart attack occurs, the heart muscle starts to die. That's why reducing the time between heart attack and treatment has been proven to have a big impact on a patient's long-term recovery”, commented Joris van den Hurk, vice president of cardiology care cycles for Philips Medical Systems. “As a result, the American College of Cardiology, in partnership with the American Heart Association and other organizations around the world, has launched the ‘Door to Balloon' campaign. It aims to reduce the amount of time from the arrival of the patient at the hospital to angioplasty to 90 minutes or less.”

In addition to transmitting ECG data to the hospital prior to the patients' arrival, the HeartStart MRx integrates seamlessly with the hospital's ECG management system TraceMasterVue, enabling critical patient information to be seen where it's needed – even in the Catheterization (Cath) Lab.

“With over 17 million people around the world dying from cardiovascular diseases each year, such diseases are the world's number one cause of death,” commented Kevin Haydon, EVP and CEO Global Sales and Service International, Philips Medical Systems. “That's why we're working together with cardiologists to develop technologies that integrate into each part of the cardiac care cycle – from emergency care to diagnosis, treatment and long-term care.”

Providing imaging data where it's needed

At ESC 2007, Philips demonstrated several other examples of how it optimizes timely delivery of diagnosis and treatment in the care cycle.

First, the recently introduced ultrasound transducer for Live 3D transesophageal echocardiography (Live 3D TEE) was demonstrated, providing views of cardiac structure and function that are available for the first time. Along with new advanced software for accurate and precise quantification of the mitral valve, surgeons now have valuable data for planning procedures. This TEE probe enables 2D imaging as well as real-time 3D visualization of the heart, in particular the heart's valves, giving clinicians the ability to carry out a complete analysis, which can help achieve a faster and more precise diagnosis.

The exceptional image clarity of Live 3D TEE provides clinical cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists and echocardiographers with more data, faster. Being able to see accurate, clear images with the push of one button, the need to reconstruct pathology from multiple 2D views is reduced, providing clinicians with more diagnostic information in less time.

Second, Philips showed how it gives surgeons access to scans from imaging equipment which is usually located in different parts of the hospital. Philips CT TrueView software brings high-quality CT data to the Cath Lab, providing clinicians with a more accurate view of the patient's anatomy, and thereby reducing the time from initial diagnosis to treatment.

Redesigning the Cath Lab

A third example of optimization was shown with Philips' Ambient Experience Cath Lab where the entire Cath Lab environment was redesigned to meet the needs of both the patient and surgeon. The innovative design of the suite promotes physical and emotional comfort for the patient and maximizes the interaction between the patient and staff by removing clutter and unnecessary physical barriers often present in a standard suite.

The Ambient Experience suite can help heart patients feel more relaxed during the catheterization procedure by allowing them to personally choose a visual theme viewed on the LCD panels of the ceiling; colored lighting illuminates the walls and sounds represent the theme. Medical staff can also benefit from the features of the Ambient Experience Cath Lab with special diffuse lighting that eliminates any shadows or reflections on monitors. This equal lighting distribution makes the room relaxing and soothing to a physician's eyes.

Physicians also have the ability to check a patient's status before beginning the procedure using a mirror television placed in the preparation room, which helps to save time and allows the physician to immediately focus on the most important person in the room – the patient, thus increasing the human contact. The suite is also equipped with Philips' voice control system, enabling the physician to focus on the patient instead of the system controls.