Press Release

Philips Australia Promotes Less Invasive Techniques for Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis

Global Expert in Cardiovascular CT joins speaking tour in Australia

Sydney, Australia March 2008 - This month, Philips Healthcare Australasia has welcomed Dr Harvey Hecht, Director of Cardiovascular CT at Lenox Hill Heart & Vascular Institute to introduce and promote the use of diagnostic imaging devices such as CT to diagnose cardiovascular disease.  The lectures given to the Australian cardiac imaging and specialist radiologist communities bring in to question the entire premise upon which vascular disease is diagnosed and managed in this country. 

Cardiac disease is the number one cause of death worldwide according the World Health Organisation, with 17 million people dying each year - and 70% of those directly caused by inflamed arteries. 

“The traditional method for diagnosing cardiac disease is through a cardiac catheter angiography, which is an uncomfortable, invasive and therefore potentially risky procedure. During this procedure a clinician will insert a catheter into the patient’s groin and thread it all the way up to heart where images are taken of the major blood vessels to measure the buildup of plaque,” said Dr. Hecht.

“Not only is the new technique utilising CT less invasive than catherization it is also much quicker, the procedure is only 20-30 minutes and there is no need for lengthy recovery in-hospital freeing up important hospital resources.”
Dr Hecht also points to the benefit of studying a 3D image of the heart from a CT scan over the two dimensional images produced in cardiac catheritization techniques.

“The problem with traditional techniques for diagnosing cardiac disease is that the produced image is essentially two dimensional, and since blood vessels are rarely concentric (perfectly round) a two-dimensional image may either over estimate or underestimate the severity of disease.”

To date, Dr Hecht’s research into cross-sectional measurement using CT has been professionally validated and the approach has cast a shadow over the conventional angiography approach to diagnosis of vessel disease, particularly in the heart.

In 2008, Philips will also introduce the 256-slice Brilliance iCT scanner to Australia.  This scanner has the ability to capture a high resolution image of the heart in just two beats, reducing the amount of time required for new Cardiac CT techniques.  Using Philips’ cardiac CT software suite, a clinician is able to more accurately measure areas of disease and the density of plaque on artery walls.

Philips is also investing in a number of areas to improve techniques for imaging, including a cross industry alliance with BG Medicine, AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., and Humana, a US-based insurance company, to form the High-Risk Plaque (HRP) Initiative whose goal is to improve the management of high-risk plaque, the primary underlying cause of heart attacks.

For further information, please contact:

Sarah Campbell, Manager Corporate Communications and Sustainability
Philips Electronics Australia
65 Epping Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113
Tel: +61 2 9947 0472
Mob: +61 421 612 994
sarah.campbell@philips.com

About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 128,100 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2006, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.