Healthcare Leaders Join to Streamline and Optimize the Management of Lung Nodules
DUBLIN and AMSTERDAM – January 30, 2018 – In a collective effort to improve the management of patients with lung nodules, Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT) and Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA) have entered into a business relationship to develop and commercialize the LungGPS(TM) Patient Management Platform. The comprehensive patient and data management platform is designed to streamline the management of lung nodule patients from identification through diagnosis, treatment, and long-term survivorship.
Lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer in the world, accounting for more cancer deaths than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined1. In its early stages, lung cancer presents few, if any, symptoms. Lung nodules, also referred to as “spots” or “shadows” on the lung, are usually benign. But when found early, nodules can be continuously monitored for growth, which is a sign that the nodule could become cancerous.
When lung nodules are found, the lack of infrastructure, coordination and capacity to manage identified patients in a timely manner can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Studies demonstrate the majority of patients with incidental nodule identification don’t receive appropriate follow up2.They often go home either unaware of the issue or the importance of action.
Together, the companies’ early commercialization efforts will provide multiple solutions that focus on integrating hospital data, patient management, and clinical workflows. The LungGPS platform is designed to make it easier for clinicians to identify and manage patients with incidental pulmonary nodules within disparate hospital information systems.
The LungGPS platform3 uses:
- Natural Language Processing – a type of artificial intelligence technology that quickly searches and analyzes data contained within various medical reports, and highlights relevant information for further review and follow up.
- Philips’ market-leading Lung Cancer Screening Solution – a software system that automates routine administrative tasks and standardizes clinical workflows for optimized efficiency and patient care.
Once a lung nodule patient is identified, the software helps guide those patients into an appropriate clinical workflow – allowing for quick evaluation of those who may be at risk of lung cancer and effective and efficient management of those that require long-term surveillance.
“Lung cancer rates haven’t changed much over the past three decades. The current management of incidental lung nodule tracking is a very manual process, one that includes spreadsheets or post-it notes or no active management at all. It’s time we think differently about how we’re going to tackle this disease, and bring lung healthcare into the twenty-first century,” said Matt Anderson, vice president and general manager of Lung Health, which is part of the Surgical Innovations division in the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group at Medtronic. “No one single company can tackle this alone and through our collaboration with Philips, we have the opportunity to help achieve better outcomes for these patients – using technology to promote integrated care.”
“Early identification and prompt, appropriate management of pulmonary nodule patients has been proven to improve clinical outcomes. Developing technological solutions to enable our customers to do this quickly, efficiently and consistently continues to be our focus and we’re excited about the expanded possibilities through our new collaboration with Medtronic,” said Brent Berthy, head of Oncology Solutions at Philips. “The combination of our collective capabilities in imaging, informatics and image-guided intervention has the ability to make a meaningful, positive impact on patient care, clinical outcomes and survivorship.”
About Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips’ health technology portfolio generated 2016 sales of EUR 17.4 billion and employs approximately 73,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
About Medtronic
Medtronic plc (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world’s largest medical technology, services and solutions companies – alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world. Medtronic employs more than 84,000 people worldwide, serving physicians, hospitals and patients in approximately 160 countries. The company is focused on collaborating with stakeholders around the world to take healthcare Further, Together.
Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.
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1 American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts & Figures 2013
2 Blagev, et al, “Follow up of Incidental Pulmonary Nodules and Radiology Reports” J Am Coll Radiol 2014;11:378-383
3 Data on file at Philips.
Contacts:
Stacy Nartker
Medtronic Public Relations
+1-508-452-4039
Ryan Weispfenning
Medtronic Investor Relations
+1-763-505-4626
Steve Klink
Philips Group Press Office
+31-6-10888824
