RSNA 2024: Philips Presents AI-Enabled Imaging, Cloud-Based Informatics Solutions 

Royal Philips is flexing its artificial intelligence (AI) and healthcare informatics muscles at the Radiological Society of North America’s 2024 Annual Meeting (Dec. 1-5, Chicago).

The company is using the five-day event to showcase its latest AI-powered diagnostic and treatment imaging innovations that advance precise imaging with faster, easier, more efficient workflows. Addressing key challenges faced by radiologists, these innovations are complemented by Philips’ expertise in cloud-based data management, advanced visualization, automation, and AI. Together, they aim to reduce the administrative burden and empower clinicians with insights to deliver better care for more people.

“The healthcare industry is facing a perfect storm of challenges in radiology: increasing patient volumes, skyrocketing demand for imaging studies, and an explosion in imaging data. At the same time, staff shortages are creating mounting pressure on already strained resources,” said Bert van Meurs, chief business leader of Diagnosis and Treatment at Philips. “Our intelligent imaging systems combined with our informatics support healthcare providers in embracing solutions that enhance efficiency, reduce the administrative burden, and empower radiologists to focus on delivering precise, high-quality care.”

The Philips Future Health Index 2024 Report shows 99% of radiology leaders surveyed struggle with staff shortages, with nearly four in five facing financial pressures, and 45% experiencing burnout symptoms. Radiologists are also experiencing a 40% increase in patients with complex diseases¹ in clinical areas like cardiology and neurology, which is driving the need for imaging exams and a 60% increase in imaging data.² At RSNA 2024, Philips is demonstrating the ways it can help mitigate these challenges with breakthrough innovations that advance precision imaging for more patients and enhance productivity through seamless imaging and informatics integration.

Helium-Free MRI Operations

Philips is debuting at RSNA 2024 the industry’s first and only wide-bore, high-performance helium-free³ magnetic resonance scanner with fully integrated cloud-based, AI-driven, automated quantitative reporting capabilities⁴ for specific disease areas like neurology and oncology. With AI assistance throughout the workflow—from planning to imaging and reporting—Philips’ next-generation BlueSeal 1.5T MRI boosts productivity, ease of use and access to precision diagnosis worldwide, while caring for the planet. Philips’ BlueSeal technology sets new standards in MRI as the lightest 70 cm system currently available,⁵ making it easier to install and cost-effective to maintain, enabling flexible installations and wider access in new locations.

Breakthrough Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment

Making its debut in North America at RSNA is the fully AI-enabled CT 5300, featuring Precise Image AI-based reconstruction software to assist with the computed tomography (CT) workflow while reducing radiation dose and improving image quality for complex exams like cardiac imaging. Philips is also spotlighting the Spectral CT 7500, providing spectral CT solutions across a wide range of clinical areas including cardiology, oncology, neurology, musculoskeletal, and pediatrics. With more than 24 million spectral exams performed to date, Spectral CT 7500 has been shown to deliver up to 97% diagnostic sensitivity compared to 55% with conventional CT;⁶ 96% certainty of cyst vs. lesion compared to 30% with conventional CT;⁷ and a 26% reduction in follow-up scans due to incomplete diagnosis.⁸

Philips is elevating image quality in ultrasound with the newest releases of its EPIQ Elite and Affiniti systems, featuring new workflow and quantification automation to make exams faster and reproducible to help increase clinical confidence. With more than 100 optimized presets across multiple clinical applications, Philips’ latest innovations in ultrasound help reduce exam times and variability. This is meant to increase efficiency with more than 50% reduction in time for image optimization during abdominal and obstetrics exams.⁹ Also being showcased is the latest Azurion 7 platform to support image-guided interventional procedures with a 17% reduction in procedure time and a 12% reduction in patient preparation time, bringing the ability to treat one more patient per day.¹⁰

Expanded Strategic Collaboration With AWS

Besides its imaging solutions, Philips is presenting at RSNA 2024 its advanced healthcare informatics capabilities for data management, advanced visualization, automation, and AI to help reduce administrative burdens and empower clinicians with insights to deliver better care. In the run-up to the event, Philips expanded its strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer Philips’ integrated diagnostics portfolio in the cloud, including radiology, digital pathology, cardiology,¹¹ and AI advanced visualization¹¹ solutions. As part of the agreement, Philips aims to create robust and scalable generative AI applications that leverage state-of-the-art foundation models from Amazon Bedrock, and seamlessly integrate those applications into clinical workflows.

Philips is also debuting the latest U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared Radiology Operations Command Center remote scanning and remote protocol management features¹² enabling real-time collaboration between imaging experts and on-site technologists, virtually anywhere, to help streamline radiology operations and workflows to provide high-quality imaging to more patients at lower costs. Paired with the world’s first and only helium-free mobile MRI solution, Philips continues to expand quality care to large populations of traditionally underserved patients in a more accessible and sustainable way.  

Royal Philips is a global health technology company focused on improving human health and well-being through meaningful innovation. Philips’ patient- and people-centric innovation leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver personal health solutions for consumers and professional health solutions for healthcare providers and their patients in the hospital and the home. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company develops solutions in diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, image-guided therapy, monitoring and enterprise informatics, as well as in personal health. Philips generated €18.2 billion in 2023 sales and employs approximately 69,300 workers with sales and services in more than 100 countries.

References
¹ 3 Key market trends source: The Burden of Chronic Disease (Karen Hacker); The healthcare data explosion (RBC Capital Markets); Radiologist burnout (Catalina imaging)
² 3 Key market trends source: The Burden of Chronic Disease (Karen Hacker); The healthcare data explosion (RBC Capital Markets); Radiologist burnout (Catalina imaging)
³ Helium-free operations. 7 liters of helium is permanently enclosed in the cryogenic circuit.
⁴ BlueSeal XE/SE and Smart Reading are not yet CE marked, not cleared in all countries, and not yet available for delivery in any country. Please consult your Philips contact person for further information.
⁵ Compared to conventional 1.5T zero boil off systems in the industry BlueSeal MR system weight (with cryogen) 2,300 kg (5,071 lbs).
⁶ Mellander, et al. (Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden), Acta Radiology (2022) DOI: 10.1177/02841851221130612
⁷ Andersen MB, Ebbesen D, Thygesen J, Kruis M, Rasmussen F. Impact of spectral body imaging in patients suspected for occult cancer: a prospective study of 503 patients. Eur Radiol. 2020 Oct;30(10):5539-5550. doi: 10.1007/s00330-020-06878-7
⁸ Follow-up Recommendation Rates Associated with Spectral Detector Dual-Energy CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis: A Retrospective Comparison to Single-Energy CT. Atwi, Noah E. et al. J Am Coll Radiol. 2020;17:940-950
⁹ D001833994, Marketing Claim Evidence for VM12.0 Workflow Efficiency Quick Launch Preset
¹⁰ Results from study conducted at St. Antonius Hospital. Results verified by NAMSA, independent third-party expert on study design and analytics. Results are specific to the institution where they were obtained and may not reflect the results achievable at other institutions.
¹¹ Available on cloud in 2025.
¹² Remote editing and protocol management are functionalities powered by the 510(k) cleared ROCC Console solution. ROCC Console is not to be used without a trained and qualified user at the scanner.