Embedded Files
Cancer diagnosis harnesses AI, spectral imaging and robotic guidance in Philips’ PreciseOnco consortium, which just secured €14.9M in EU Innovative Health Initiative funding plus €9M in in-kind industry contributions to run a five-year program with five clinical studies validating minimally invasive cancer interventions.
Why It Matters To Oncology
Targets higher-precision, image-guided local therapies (e.g., ablation, radioembolisation, transarterial chemoembolisation) by combining spectral imaging, AI-powered software and robotics.
Builds interoperable tools aimed at improving image quality, reducing radiation exposure, streamlining advanced visualization and providing real-time procedural feedback.
Explores electrochemotherapy to deliver chemotherapy directly to tumors while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.
Clinical validation spans five studies: VISTA (liver/kidney ablation + radioembolisation), SPOT ON (spectral CT for targeting/planning), HORA EST HCC 2 (thermal ablation + TACE in HCC), SPECTRA-L (spectral imaging for TACE), and LASER (imaging biomarkers to forecast outcomes across cancers/techniques).
The Financials
€14.9 million ($17.6 million) in public funding from the EU’s Innovative Health Initiative.
€9 million ($10.6 million) in material and service contributions from industry partners.
Five-year research and innovation programme.
What They're Saying
Philips’ Bert van Meurs: “By combining spectral imaging, AI-powered software and robotic guidance, we're developing new solutions to help physicians treat cancer with greater precision, confidence and speed.”
Van Meurs added the technology aims to improve patient outcomes and optimize hospital resources.
What's Next
Multi-site clinical validation across European academic centers including University Hospital Cologne, UMC Utrecht, Leiden UMC, AP-HP (Paris) and Hospices Civils de Lyon.
Development work across spectral imaging, robotic integration and AI-assisted imaging, alongside health-economic assessment of costs and benefits.
Program aligns with Philips’ other EU-backed oncology imaging efforts (e.g., IMAGIO; European Federation for Cancer Images) and digital pathology/imaging workflow collaborations.
Page updated
Report abuse