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.’