Philips and King’s College London have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research into heart disease over the next five years.
The two will work together on developing new ways to improve diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
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.
Key areas of focus will be on combining different imaging technologies, such as X-ray, MRI, ultrasound and CT, to help doctors 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, especially in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, diagnostics and interventional guidance.
The two are both members of the pan-European euHeart project to develop advanced computer modeling to improve treatment of cardiac conditions.
The new agreement aims at the continuation of long-term collaboration in these fields and will also seek to establish new research projects into medical imaging for cardiovascular disease, cardiac arrhythmias and pediatric diseases.
Reza Razavi, Professor of Paediatric 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.”
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 co-operation with Professor Razavi, the team at King’s College London and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital.”
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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