Nov 08, 2021

Philips and Alliance Medical to pilot new vision for radiology departments and imaging providers

Partnership will see Alliance Medical leverage Philips’ latest Radiology Operations Command Centre
New multi-modal virtual imaging command centre enables radiology teams to access additional layer of senior specialist support to maximise imaging service throughput
Proprietary digital technology developed by Philips helps maintain business continuity, increase radiology team productivity, minimise issues with image quality, and expand access to advanced MR- and CT-based procedures

Farnborough, United Kingdom – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Alliance Medical Ltd., Europe’s leading independent provider of imaging services, today announced a strategic partnership that will see Alliance pilot Philips’ new Radiology Operations Command Centre (ROCC).

Accessible from Alliance’s Iceni Centre based in the Warwick Technology Park, Philips’ vendor-agnostic command centre will centralise, virtualise, and standardise imaging operations across sites in the UK operated by Alliance. An initial four locations will participate in the pilot, including St Peter’s Hospital in Surrey, University Hospital Hartlepool, West Middlesex University Hospital and Ashford Hospital in Middlesex.

Philips’ proprietary operational performance management technology will connect experts at the Iceni Centre, with radiographers and onsite staff in locations for real-time, over-the-shoulder collaboration and support, delivering a new level of interoperability between radiology departments.

ROCC enables the ability to centrally monitor every MR and CT scanner within a network from a single location. This helps to maintain business continuity, increase productivity and address the challenges posed by staff shortages by enabling senior radiographers to support others in more than one location.

Additionally, as the NHS continues to tackle the screening backlog caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions this has placed on imaging services, ROCC presents a new opportunity for radiology services to expand access and improve quality.

Richard Evans, Managing Director at Alliance Medical commented: “The concept of being able to remotely support our staff and provide training from a team of highly skilled ROCC operators is groundbreaking. In addition, the continuity of service ROCC can offer to our customers will be unrivalled due to the technology and the benefits it brings. The Philips team are exceptional, and no doubt will deliver the benefits ROCC offers through the pilot.”

Neil Mesher, Philips UKI CEO said: “Radiology departments in particular will face significant challenges in the coming years, with increased pressure from patient backlogs combined with a challenging workforce crisis. Therefore, it is mission critical that new ways to manage patient pathways are implemented and we believe that ROCC is a key example of how innovation can be utilised to support healthcare providers in meeting these challenges. We are thrilled to partner with Alliance Medical to deliver this new vision for radiology screening.”

Karen Clarke, Alliance Medical Unit Manager UK, West Middlesex/St Mary’s Paddington MRI commented: “The concept of being able to remotely support the clinical team in real time situations will be a massive benefit to Alliance Medical. It will not only enable us to assist both our newest recruits with their probationary training assessments, but also provide high level remote back up support to established staff as and when needed at site. The continuity of scanning performance, reduced need for staff to travel and opportunity for career progression for senior radiographers will also be notable benefits for Alliance.”

A key benefit of ROCC is the compatibility of its remote scanner connections with older, legacy imaging systems, allowing healthcare providers to create a ‘hub and spoke’ model for imaging within their existing services.

As a first-of-kind in the UK, the ROCC’s vendor-agnostic approach broadens the scope of collaboration and expertise sharing across the image acquisition process, meaning an increase in producing first time right scans, which in turn will lead to greater confidence in diagnosis.

ROCC also enables real-time collaboration and virtual imaging assistance, even when a patient is on the scanner table, breaking down communication barriers and helping maximise the value of staff, without compromising imaging quality, privacy, safety or security.

For more information about ROCC, please visit: Radiology Operations Command Center İ Philips Healthcare

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being 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 generated 2020 sales of EUR 17.3 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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About Alliance

Alliance Medical is Europe’s leading independent provider of imaging services, offering over 30 years of knowledge, skills and experience of diagnostic imaging and unrivalled expertise which enables them to offer an exceptional service and value proposition to meet the demands of the UK healthcare market. Alliance Medical provides medical imaging services to more than 700 000 patients in the UK each year, employing over 1000 people in a UK network of over 62 facilities and approximately 55 mobile scanners.They combine service excellence and innovative imaging technologies to improve patient care and support NHS and independent sector organisations with their ongoing imaging requirements.

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