Collaboration Initiated for Heart Disease Research

A major corporation and a British institute are planning to work together on developing new ways to improve diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Philips Healthcare (Best, The Netherlands) announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a five-year research collaboration with King's College London (UK).

Under the multi-million Euro agreement, Philips and King's College London's division of imaging sciences will develop new medical imaging research projects with a particular focus on cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology. One of the major areas of focus will be on combining different imaging technologies, such as X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT), to help clinicians navigate their way through a patient's heart during minimal-invasive procedures.

Philips and King's College London have already built a long-standing relationship, in particular through the College's division of imaging sciences, in the areas of image analysis, particularly in the field of MRI, diagnostics, and interventional guidance. The new agreement aims at the continuation of long-term collaboration in these fields and it will seek to establish new research projects into medical imaging for cardiovascular disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and pediatric diseases.

Dr. Reza Razavi, professor of pediatric cardiovascular science at King's College London and head of the division of imaging sciences, said, "We have a long history of working closely with Philips, and this new agreement will allow us to continue our research into cardiovascular disease for many more years. Through our research we hope to advance the way we diagnose and treat heart conditions and so improve the care of children and adults with cardiovascular disease.”

Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare and member of the board of management of Royal Philips, added, "We believe that understanding the needs of patients and care providers ensures we create solutions that best meet their requirements and so are very proud to be working in close cooperation with Prof. Razavi, the team at King's College London and Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital. Through these innovative research projects we hope to find new ways of delivering cardiology care that will offer real benefits for patients and clinicians.”

King's, through its commercial arm, King's College London Business, is focused on creating mutually beneficial industrial collaborations of this kind as part of its translational research agenda.

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