Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology on March 6 introduced Azurion with FlexArm, to set a new standard for patient imaging and positioning flexibility for image-guided procedures in India.

During increasingly complex interventions, clinicians need to quickly and easily visualize critical anatomy and identify changes to the patient during the procedure. Azurion with FlexArm includes a set of innovations that makes it easier for the clinician to perform imaging across the whole patient in both 2D and 3D. As the clinician moves the system, the FlexArm's 270-degree range of movement allows all imaging positions to be reached without hampering optimal team positioning without needing to move the patient table.

Commenting on the launch, Rohit Sathe, President, Philips Healthcare, Indian Subcontinent said, Imaging plays a critical role in helping clinicians to improve performance, diagnosis as well as overall care delivery. Our latest offering Azurion FlexArm with its intuitive and seamless approach will enhance patient care and save time while opening up opportunities for new image-guided procedures as the field continues to grow. 

The range and complexity of diseases that can be treated with minimally invasive procedures continue to grow. Likewise, the procedures are also becoming more trivial requiring more physicians from different disciplines in Hybrid OR to work together in a highly coordinated way. As a result, the clinical team is required to carry out increasingly challenging procedures in a highly constrained environment.

Azurion with FlexArm's innovative design provides exceptional flexibility and intuitive control. Powered by a unique smart kinematic engine, the system moves on eight different axes, all controlled with its single Axsys' controller. Simulation tests with clinicians have demonstrated the system's potential to significantly reduce the repositioning of the patient, staff and equipment to improve access for minimally invasive procedures, including those that enter the body through the patient's wrist (radial access'), and to reduce the risk of unintentional pulling of wires and tubes, as well as significant time savings. The system is ideally suited for Hybrid ORs that cater to multiple specialties in one room, such as a combination of surgical and endovascular procedures.

Azurion with FlexArm is the latest innovation in Philips' unique portfolio of systems, smart devices, software and services in image-guided therapy, which combine to provide healthcare providers with sophisticated, procedure-oriented solutions. As the range of diseases that can be treated with minimally invasive procedures continues to expand and the procedures themselves become more efficient, the patient's treatment experience continues to improve. They experience less trauma, and as a result, their stay in hospital can be dramatically reduced often returning home after one night in hospital, and for some procedures even leaving the hospital on the same day.