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Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) and the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam (the Netherlands) today announced the opening of the Netherlands’ first PET/MR Imaging Center. This advanced new imaging modality will enable researchers at the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam to investigate new methods of diagnosing and treating cancer and neurological disorders. The center’s researchers will also use the system to study innovative ways of developing new drugs more efficiently and more cost-effectively.
The Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MR scanner that has been installed in the imaging center combines the molecular imaging capabilities of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with the superb soft tissue imaging capabilities of Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. PET and MR have previously been used as separate and distinct imaging modalities, with each modality requiring its own suite of rooms to house the necessary equipment. Philips was the first company in the world to successfully overcome the technical challenges involved in bringing these two modalities into close physical proximity to create a commercial whole-body PET/MR scanner, so that sequential PET and MR images can be acquired in the same session. This allows very accurate overlaying of the PET and MR images so that clinicians can combine the functional and anatomical information provided by PET and MR respectively into a single fused image.
Philips and the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam have been collaborating intensively on medical imaging research since 2010. VUmc’s new PET/MR Imaging Center is the first step towards creating the VUmc Imaging Center Amsterdam, which by 2016 will house a comprehensive suite of medical imaging technologies including PET/MR, PET/CT, SPECT, ultrasound and optical imaging. The overall aim of the center will be to develop highly personalized treatment regimes for individual patients.
Installation of Philips PET/MR system at the VUmc
PET/MR imaging examination room with Ambient Experience 
PET/MR preparation roomJoost Maltha
Philips Healthcare Benelux
Tel. +31 40 27 80125
E-mail: joost.maltha@signify.com
Steve Klink
Philips Corporate Communications
Tel. +31 20 59 77415
E-mail: steve.klink@signify.com
Edith Krab
VU University Medical Center Amsterdam
Tel. + 31 20 444 3444
E-mail: e.krab@vumc.nl
Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2011 sales of EUR 22.6 billion and employs approximately 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming, home and portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
.VU University Medical Center's core business consists of patient care, scientific research, and education. Its pivotal points in care and research are cancer and immunity, the brain, movement, vital functions and extramural care. Each year 38,000 patients are admitted (including one-day admissions), well over 300,000 patients visit the Outpatients department and 40,000 arrive at the Accident and Emergency department. Approximately 2,000 medical students are in training here. Each year, VU University Medical Center produces around 2,000 scientific publications and reports based on the scientific research carried out here. This includes the results of thesis research projects being carried out by 100 PhD students.
VU University Medical Center is a member of the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU). The NFU is a collaborative venture of the eight university medical centers (UMCs) in the Netherlands. Its overall objective is to promote the common interests of the UMCs. The other members of the NFU are the AMC (Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam), azM (University Hospital Maastricht), Erasmus MC (University Medical Center Rotterdam), LUMC (Leiden University Medical Center), UMCG (University Medical Center Groningen), UMC Utrecht (University Medical Center Utrecht) and UMC St Radboud (Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center). A total of 60,000 staff are employed by the eight UMCs.
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