Medical instrument GPS

Royal Philips Electronics has announced it has acquired Toronto-based Traxtal, a developer of minimally invasive medical instruments and software for image-guided procedures.

Traxtal’s soft-tissue navigation software is designed to work like a GPS for medical instruments so interventional radiology procedures are more accurate and reduce contrast, radiation dose and interventional time.

Philips believes this acquisition will allow it to become one of the leading providers of image-guided procedures.

‘Image-guided procedures are one of the most important breakthroughs in the healthcare industry in decades,’ said Steve Rusckowski, the chief executive of Philips Healthcare.

‘This acquisition allows Philips to significantly enhance its abilities in this rapidly emerging field and will help us further realise our ambition to offer the best quality of care in the most efficient way possible.’

Rusckowski added that Philips already provides X-ray guidance technology for opening obstructed arteries.

‘The acquisition of Traxtal, with its innovative technologies in image-based navigation, opens up great opportunities for further cutting edge, minimally invasive intervention and therapy solutions in combination with our other leading diagnostic and imaging products in ultrasound, CT and MR,’ he said.

‘This is consistent with our care cycle approach in key strategic areas such as women’s health, oncology and cardiology, extending our solutions beyond diagnosis into image guidance and therapy.’

Traxtal’s imaging technology displays, during the procedure, a surgical instrument’s position, orientation and trajectory on medical images such as ultrasound or CT.

One example is Traxtal’s Percunav system used for radiofrequency ablation of liver tumours.

During the procedure, the system will help guide and monitor the position of the ablation needle towards the centre of the lesion.

Traxtal, which was founded in 1996 to develop advanced instrumentation for image-guided intervention, has 45 employees.

The company will become part of the ultrasound business within Philips Healthcare.