Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, announced its SmartPath to dStream upgrades to both Hospital Seberang Jaya and Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim’s existing Achieva 1.5T SE - DS suites; thus creating a viable healthcare future in bringing the latest imaging technology to Malaysia with a simple, cost-effective solution designed with the entire seamless patient journey in mind. The cost-effective upgrade to a state-of-the-art MRI system guarantees to last 10 years and longer without buying a brand new system.
The Philips SmartPath to dStream brings state-of-the-art digital performance to existing imaging systems without the investment and complexity of changing the current magnet. The SmartPath to dStream program essentially extends system lifetime. Operators will then get a system that is like new, at a substantially lower cost than a new system. Plus, there is no need to design a new MR suite either as the magnet can remain in the exam room while the makeover takes place resulting in much less disturbance to the facility. This cuts both the downtime and the expense of a new MRI suite.
Additionally, the innovative dStream digital broadband architecture includes iPatient, a platform that streamlines workflow and reduces exam time up to 30% by allowing imaging with fewer coils. The upgrade also applies a motion correction technology that enables routine exams to be performed in less than eight minutes, whilst providing excellent image quality with greater accuracy and reporting.
As the world is embracing the new wave of digitalization triggered by the pandemic and the arrival of 5G, there has been an increasing pressure on healthcare providers to diagnose a variety of patients and address a wide range of clinical indications with exceptional speed and accuracy. This emerging and evolving technology holds the power to address various challenges the healthcare industry is facing today - from rising healthcare costs and increasingly aging population to care management and redefine the way healthcare is delivered.
More so here in Malaysia, where to meet these challenges, hospitals need to invest in a fully digital broadband system, yet demands on hospital budgets have never been greater. Through a partnership that focuses on personalized care and smart health management by the adoption of technology as its priority, both Hospital Seberang Jaya and Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim are the first two government hospitals to receive the Philips SmartPath to dStream upgrades for improved imaging outcomes and optimised patient care.
According to Muhammad Ali Jaleel, Chairman and CEO of Philips Malaysia, “At Philips, we continue to pride ourselves as a service provider and health technology partner that offers revolutionary imaging solutions in our endless quest to raise the bar on clinical excellence. The SmartPath to dStream will enable partners such as Hospital Seberang Jaya and Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim to thrust their MR systems into the digital age, offering all the benefits of digital broadband architecture without the cost and hassle of re-installing a completely new system. We aim to grow collaborations with all healthcare providers and hospitals towards long-term optimisation of their system capabilities so they can focus on what really matters - delivering better care, to more people, at lower cost”.
As the healthcare industry is under tremendous pressure to hold costs down while delivering exceptional patient care. As a result, there is a clear trend toward keeping and maintaining existing medical equipment. Jeffry B. Mohamad Noor, Senior Principal Assistant Director Engineering Service Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, said, “This RTM or Replacement Through Maintenance project, using funds from the Ministry of Health, is a great project for the replacement of MRI parts apart from the two magnets. We achieved a lot of benefits related to these two projects, namely better image quality, more software applications and faster scans to minimize the patient waiting list.”
More information on SmartPath to dStream MR system upgrade can be found here.
