Affair of the heart

Researchers at King's College London and Royal Philips Electronics are to collaborate to develop new image-processing technologies.

Researchers at King's College London and Royal Philips Electronics are to collaborate to develop new ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Under the multi-million Euro five-year agreement, Philips and King’s College London’s Division of Imaging Sciences will work together to develop new medical-imaging technologies with a particular focus on cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology.

One of the key areas they will focus on will be how to combine 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 have already built a longstanding relationship through the College’s Division of Imaging Sciences in the area of image analysis.

Prof Reza Razavi of Paediatric Cardiovascular Science at King’s College London and head of the Division of Imaging Sciences, said: 'Through our research we hope to advance the way we diagnose and treat heart conditions and so improve the care of children and adults with cardiovascular disease.'

King's College London Business, King's commercial arm, which is focused on creating mutually beneficial industrial collaborations of this kind as part of its translational research agenda, was involved in brokering the agreement.