Philips and Utrecht University partner on research

Royal Philips Electronics and the University Medical Centre Utrecht have signed a morandum of understanding setting out a long-term research partnership.

The new partnership between UMC, the Netherlands’ biggest university hospital, and Philips will focus on developing new solutions for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of major disease areas.

Philips and UMC will develop collaborative research projects in medical imaging applied to brain disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease and pulmonary disease.

A key area of focus outlined in the MOU is image guided oncology interventions. Philips and UMC Utrecht expect the agreement to result in new treatment methods that will ultimately lead to an improved quality of healthcare delivery.

"High quality healthcare starts with healthcare professionals working together in teams based around their patients," said Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare and member of the board of management of Royal Philips.

He said UMC Utrecht and Philips have a long history in working together to develop groundbreaking medical technologies across a wide range of radiology, cardiology, neurology and oncology applications.

"We’ve signed this MOU with Philips to focus on innovation, patient care and knowledge sharing," said Professor Geert Blijham, chairman of the Board of UMC Utrecht.

Prof. Blijham added: "In particular, we’ll focus on the treatments given to patients, with research principally directed towards translational research – bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research and clinical applications."