AMSTERDAM, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced the latest installation of its Ambient Experience in-bore Connect solution for MR at Lahey Medical Center, Peabody in Massachusetts (US). Now supporting patients and staff at the medical center, it also represents a 250th installation milestone in the growing global adoption of this innovative solution, which aims to help reduce patient stress and improve MR imaging outcomes.

Soothing, immersive, personalized experience
Philips' Ambient Experience in-bore Connect solution provides patients with a soothing, immersive, personalized multi-media experience as they enter the bore of the MR scanner. When entering the scanning room, they are immediately engaged in the procedure by being given control over selection of the MR Ambient Experience theme. Coupled with clear instructions about what to do and what to expect during the scan, this in-bore experience supports patients who experience feelings of stress, and helps hospital staff improve workflows and reduce the number of rescans*.


"Our team is now able to work smarter, faster and more efficiently," said Christoph Wald, MD, PhD, MBA, FACR, Chairman, Department of Radiology at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. "As a result, our patients are more comfortable and our technologists and radiologists can focus on delivering confident diagnoses."

Patients can feel stress, nervousness and anxiety when entering the bore of an MR scanner, especially when doing so head-first. By obscuring the internal surface of the scanner bore from the patient's view and replacing it with soothing video images, the system helps patients deal with these feelings. The video can be themed according to patient choice (e.g. landscapes, seascapes, underwater marinescapes) and is accompanied by soothing head-phone delivered audio.

Many patients also find it challenging to know what to do during their scan, such as holding their breath and staying perfectly still when needed. To help them, the Philips system overlays the video with audio-visual prompts, so that patients know what they need to do and how long they need to do it, while a progress bar lets them know how the scan is progressing. Enhancing patient compliance reduces the need for radiology technician intervention and helps to support maximum scan quality.

"Our Ambient Experience in-bore Connect solution is aimed at helping patients and staff to get the quality images they need," said Werner Satter, General Manager Healthcare Experience Solutions at Philips. "The global adoption of our solutions to improve the patient experience showcases how the combination of a patient-centric approach, technology and design can work together to help improve imaging outcomes."

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