UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS – University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, the Netherlands' largest university hospital, will partner with Royal Philips Electronics to develop new solutions for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of major disease areas.

The hospital signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) setting out a long-term research partnership with Philips.

Under the terms of the MOU, Philips and UMC will develop collaborative research projects in medical imaging applied to brain disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease and pulmonary disease. A key area of focus will be image guided oncology interventions. 

"We've signed this MOU with Philips to focus on innovation, patient care and knowledge sharing," said Professor Geert Blijham, chairman of the Board of UMC Utrecht. "In particular, we'll focus on the treatments given to patients, with research principally directed towards translational research - bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research and clinical applications."

Philips and UMC Utrecht officials expect the agreement to result in new treatment methods that will ultimately lead to an improved quality of healthcare delivery.

"High quality healthcare starts with healthcare professionals working together in teams based around their patients," said Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare and member of the Board of Management of Royal Philips. "UMC Utrecht and Philips have a long history in working together to develop groundbreaking medical technologies across a wide range of radiology, cardiology, neurology and oncology applications. The secret of our success is our close cooperation. Our people love to work with the team at UMC Utrecht, and their clinicians enjoy benefiting from our research facilities. We want to build on this and to focus on developing solutions throughout the whole cycle of care - from diagnosis to treatment, recovery and follow-up."