Biocompatibles, Philips to develop new treatment protocol for trans-arterial embolization

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) and Biocompatibles, a BTG international group company, announced a collaboration to advance the use of image guidance to control the delivery of beads during the arterial embolization of hypervascularized tumors today at the annual CIRSE (Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe) meeting.

The first undertaking of this new collaboration will be the development of a new treatment protocol for trans-arterial embolization - a process demonstrated to reduce the size or rate of growth of tumors. This is done by blocking the blood supply to a tumor (embolization) using an embolic material (in this case, beads). The aim of this protocol is to standardize and optimize the current approach to treatment delivery, thereby ensuring the best possible patient outcome.

The trend towards such minimally invasive treatments continues to grow in interventional oncology. This requires an integrated approach from image guidance and medical devices to provide controlled delivery of treatment that will both enable physicians to perform their procedures with more precision, and reduce discomfort for the patient.

"Personalized and less invasive treatment is the way forward in patient care," says Louise Verheij, VP Marketing BU iXR. "As part of our strategy, Philips is committed to delivering integrated interventional solutions for image-guided minimally invasive procedures by working closely with hospitals and industry partners in different application spaces. Combining the leadership positions of Philips, in the field of advanced image guidance, and Biocompatibles, in the field of embolization beads, we strive to deliver reproducible and quantifiable results in Image Guided Interventional Oncology. This is an important step in helping advance patient care."

"As a leader in beads for interventional oncology, we are investing in the optimization techniques used for embolization procedures in order to further improve the safety and efficacy of the procedure at a macro level," says Mike Motion, General Manager Interventional Oncology of Biocompatibles. "Partnering with Philips will strengthen our ability to develop integrated techniques and image guidance to enhance the arterial embolization of hypervascularized tumors with beads, the ultimate objective being the advancement of interventional oncology."