Clinical Excellence, Superiority Of Philips Brilliance CT 40-Slice System Proven At Indiana University Hospital

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2004-- The First U.S. Installation of the Philips Brilliance CT 40-Slice System Provides Increased Coverage and Fast Acquisitions, Expanding Clinical Capabilities

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced that Indiana University Hospital, a part of Clarian Health Partners, is utilizing the speed and image quality of Philips Brilliance Computed Tomography (CT) 40-slice system, to evaluate patients and identify disease using a variety of clinical applications. Producing excellent image quality, the Brilliance CT 40-slice provides clinicians with detailed images that are especially useful when scanning regions of the body containing moving organs.

“We share Philips philosophy that clinical care and research enhance one another and have partnered with them to take a proactive role in the advancement of new medical technologies, like the Brilliance CT 40-slice scanner, that will help detect and treat disease,” said Jonas Rydberg, M.D., abdominal radiologist, Indiana Radiology Partners and associate professor of radiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “We feel confident that we are providing the best radiology service to our patients and referring physicians.”

Indiana University Hospital will use this system to study cardiac patients, as well as for imaging the chest and abdomen. These are areas that pose challenges for radiologists as motion from a beating heart and breathing can disrupt the imaging process. Technologies in the Brilliance CT 40-slice system address these clinical challenges through expanded scanning coverage of 40mm, and increased data acquisition of 40 slices per rotation. Expanded coverage and faster acquisition time are important when evaluating a patient in these difficult-to-image regions because it requires shorter breath holds unlike other CT systems.

For example, using Philips Brilliance CT 40-slice system allows clinicians to scan the lungs in four seconds, the abdomen and pelvis in nine seconds and a whole body CTA (computed tomography angiography) exam can now be performed in a mere 15 seconds. Additionally, using the new 40-slice system, a whole body scan that used to take minutes, can now be done in a mere 35 seconds. The clinical innovation of Philips technology requires shorter patient breath holds, resulting in increased patient comfort and the possible elimination of the need for re-scanning, which is caused by motion interfering with image quality.

“The unique power of the Philips Brilliance 40-slice system allows us to image regions of the body faster reducing patient breath holds, requiring less contrast media and ensuring minimal patient dose exposure,” remarked Dr. Rydberg. “I foresee that Philips new concept of approaching the patient in scanning, post processing and display will put the Brilliance 40 in a league of its own.”

“The Brilliance CT 40-slice system provides significant clinical advantages and we’re thrilled to see it installed and in use at Indiana University Hospital,” said James W. Green, senior vice president, general manager, CT, for Philips Medical Systems. “Our Brilliance family of scanners was developed through extensive collaboration with customers like Indiana University Hospital, whom we’ve partnered with for more than 16 years. It is through partnerships like the one we share with IU that result in systems that can advance and maximize the clinical utilization of CT.”

In addition, each system has unique characteristics that make it valuable in different situations. The Brilliance CT 40-slice scanner is another example of technological advancement in radiology for Clarian. It will be used to research new applications for CT and to teach advanced applications.

“The 40-slice system which acquires more thin slices is ideal for advanced applications, like cardiology that require visualization of small structures, or trauma where the speed of the acquisition as well as fast reconstruction is vital,” continued Dr. Rydberg. “We are extremely pleased with this system - it complements our other CT scanners which remain key to our imaging capabilities.”

Philips first revealed initial clinical results of this new CT system at the RSNA in 2003 and more recently the clinical capabilities of the system were presented at a symposium at the ECR in Vienna. As part of its commitment to providing the most reliable, advanced clinical solutions, Philips plans to install nine systems around the world in the next few months, with commercial delivery beginning in the fall of this year. These nine systems will focus on expanding the boundaries of several advanced clinical applications like cardiac imaging, neuro perfusion and advanced pulmonary studies.

For further information please contact:

USA/Europe: Heidi Wilson, Philips Medical Systems Tel: +1 978 659 7302 heidi.wilson@philips.com

Steve Kelly, Philips Medical Systems Tel: +1 425 487 7479 steve.kelly@philips.com

Asia Pacific: Kitty Kwan, Philips Medical Systems Tel: +852 2821 5796 kitty.kwan@philips.com

Indiana James Wide, Clarian Health Partners University Tel: +317.962.4589 Hospital jwide@clarian.org

About Indiana University Hospital:

Indiana University Hospital and Outpatient Center is a teaching hospital affiliated with the IU School of Medicine and a part of Clarian Health Partners. The physicians and other health professionals at this facility see patients with complex health problems including pulmonary diseases, organ failure, all cancers and neurological disorders including Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. The physicians at IU Hospital are faculty members of the IU School of Medicine; their expertise is based on the transfer of research discoveries to clinical trials and into accepted practice. IU Hospital is connected to the IU Cancer Pavilion, a part of the NCI-designated clinical cancer center at Indiana University. Clarian Health Partners, Inc. operates the Methodist Hospital, Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital campuses as a single hospital under Indiana law.

About Royal Philips Electronics:

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest electronics companies and Europe’s largest, with sales of $32.8 billion (EUR 29 billion) in 2003. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 164,500 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter

Contacts

Philips Medical Systems USA/Europe: Heidi Wilson, 978-659-7302 heidi.wilson@philips.com OR

Steve Kelly, 425-487-7479 steve.kelly@philips.com OR

Asia Pacific: Kitty Kwan, +852-2821-5796 kitty.kwan@philips.com OR

For Indiana University Hospital Clarian Health Partners James Wide, 317-962-4589 jwide@clarian.org