The head of Philips NV, the Dutch multinational innovation company that has recently shifted its focus toward healthcare technology, says his firm’s focus on incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its products is leading to positive change in the healthcare industry.
“The beauty of AI in healthcare is that actually you have very tangible contributions that you can make,” Philips CEO Roy Jakobs told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview.
“For example… in Canada, we have wait times for people that need an image (or) a scan. We have developed a smart-speed algorithm that actually increases the image speed by three times, which means that you can double the amount of patients that can go through a scanner in an hour.”
Medical imaging is one of the main healthcare segments Philips is involved in, along with patient monitoring technology and interventional therapies. Jakobs said that the company uses the latest AI technology to enhance its products and offerings across all segments.
“In monitoring, we have a predictive algorithm that looks at the vital signs in hospital and especially in an intensive care unit environment,” Jakobs explained.
“And if you see patient deterioration, we can in a time of 24 or 36 hours predict if, for example, an arrest will be coming, and therefore you can do an early intervention preventing patient deterioration or even worse events to happen.”
Stock recovery
Investors seem to have embraced Philips’ recent use of new tech in its medical devices, as the stock is up more 65 per cent over the past year.
When Jakobs took the top job at Philips in October 2022, the firm’s stock price was under significant pressure following a recall of some of its continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, which aid patients who suffer from sleep apnea and other breathing disorders.
Jakobs said his main objective as CEO was to return the company to profitable growth and regain consumer confidence. Philips stock has nearly tripled under his watch.
“When I came in it was very important to start turning the coin towards growing the company again, building confidence, and also making clear that whatever we do… safety and quality has the highest priority,” he said.
“I came out with a three-year plan with a very focused strategy on improving people’s health and delivering more and better care on the back of very strong innovation that is people and patient-centric.”
Jakobs said that it was also important to be transparent about his plans for the company so that investors, consumers and regulators could hold management accountable.
“For me, the say-do ratio is very important if you start to rebuild trust,” he said.