Image treatment

and the University Medical Center (

)

have signed an agreement to develop new solutions for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of major diseases.

Philips and UMC will develop collaborative research projects in medical imaging applied to brain disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease and pulmonary disease.

A key area of focus outlined in the MoU is image-guided oncology interventions. Philips and UMC Utrecht expect the agreement to result in new treatment methods that will lead to an improved quality of healthcare delivery.

‘High-quality healthcare starts with healthcare professionals working together in teams based around their patients,’ said Steve Rusckowski, chief executive officer of Philips Healthcare.

He added: ‘UMC Utrecht and Philips have a long history of working together to develop groundbreaking medical technologies across a wide range of radiology, cardiology, neurology and oncology applications.

‘We want to build on this and to focus on developing solutions throughout the whole cycle of care – from diagnosis to treatment, recovery and follow-up.'

Prof Geert Blijham, chairman of the board of UMC Utrecht, said: ‘We’ve signed this MoU with Philips to focus on innovation, patient care and knowledge sharing.

‘In particular, we will focus on the treatments given to patients, with research principally directed towards translational research – bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research and clinical applications.’