Day: November 10, 2021

November 10, 2021

• USD 15.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation adds to Philips’ R&D investments and will boost obstetrics app development for Philips Handheld Ultrasound – Lumify
• Project further underscores Philips’ commitment to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people a year by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced it has received a USD 15.4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based application suite to improve the quality and accessibility of obstetric care in low- and middle-income countries, especially in underserved communities. By helping front-line healthcare workers such as midwives to identify potential problems in pregnancy at an early stage, the project aims to significantly reduce the number of women who die as a result of pregnancy – currently around 830 women every day worldwide [1] – while reducing fetal mortality and morbidity.

The project plans to develop an application suite that will be deployed on Philips Handheld Ultrasound – Lumify – which is currently in widespread use in community-based mother and child care programs around the world. It also builds on the expertise of the Philips Foundation, providing access to quality healthcare for underserved communities worldwide, including a program in Kenya to educate midwives to deliver ultrasound-based antenatal pregnancy screening in village clinics, while receiving telehealth support from radiologists at distance.

“Philips is a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, with many of its AI-based solutions already FDA approved,” said Joseph Frassica, Head of Philips Research Americas and Chief Medical Officer, Philips North America. “This effort to use AI to help deliver high quality pre-natal care to the vast number of women in the world who cannot easily access it is a perfect example of what we believe AI should be used for – empowering healthcare professionals to help them deliver faster and more efficient care to help improve patient outcomes.”

Enhancing skills of midwives in low and middle-income countries
Handheld diagnostic ultrasound platforms like Philips Lumify offer an affordable solution to assess pregnancy, while providing a portable option to be used in community-based mother and child care programs. However, front-line midwives often lack the required training and ultrasound experience to make a confident diagnosis. AI-enabled applications have the potential to bridge this gap by providing assistance to acquire the right images and then assist with interpretation of those images. The suite of AI-based obstetrics applications will help front-line healthcare workers to identify high-risk pregnancies that can be clinically managed to prevent adverse birth outcomes.

AI-guided assessment of gestational age and fetal development
The World Health Organization recommends at least one ultrasound scan before 24 weeks of gestation for pregnant women to evaluate gestational age with greater confidence than a traditional last menstrual period estimate [2]. A better estimate of gestational age can reduce the number of induced labors and, as a result, help improve the birthing experience for a large number of women. Appropriate targeting of maternal and neonatal care can also help to prevent complications of prematurity. Currently, no ultrasound device is commercially available that assists non-expert users by automating image acquisition or image interpretation for a comprehensive set of obstetrics measurements, limiting access to early fetal ultrasound scans.

“Philips Handheld Ultrasound – Lumify – is a great example of how Philips is bringing diagnostic insights to the point of care to deliver on the ‘quadruple aim’ of healthcare: better health outcomes, an improved experience for patients and staff, and a lower cost of care,” said Matthijs Groot Wassink, General Manager for Access and Obstetric Ultrasound at Philips. “Supported through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, we now have the opportunity to extend those enhanced patient and staff experiences to pregnant women and midwives throughout the world, while at the same time reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, and making high quality prenatal care much more affordable in low-resource settings.”

Philips and the Philips Foundation have several ongoing programs to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in underserved communities, including a partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and the Government of Republic of the Congo and with Aga Khan University’s​ Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health in East Africa.

Philips is a leader in ultrasound solutions with a large global installed base and a strong track record of industry-first innovations in areas such as 3D imaging of the heart, AI-powered quantification tools, and ultra-mobile portable ultrasound solutions. Its ultrasound portfolio supports the effective and efficient delivery of care across a broad range of clinical specialties including radiology, cardiology, point-of-care and obstetrics/gynecology. Visit Philips Ultrasound Systems portfolio for more information, and join Philips at RSNA 2021 where the company will spotlight its latest portfolio of connected radiology workflow solutions and smart connected imaging systems to increase efficiency and diagnostic confidence in precision care and treatment.

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
[2] WHO | WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience: ultrasound examination

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O’Reilly
Philips Global Press Office
Tel: +1 978-221-8919
Email: kathy.oreilly@philips.com

Silvie Casanova
Philips North America
Tel: +1 781-879-0692
Email: Silvie.casanova@philips.com

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 78,000 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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• Philips Lumify in the Field

Welltok’s Data and Predictive Analytics, Activation Engine and Communications Capabilities Supercharge Virgin Pulse’s Ability to Engage Hard-to-Reach Populations, including Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid Members

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Virgin Pulse, the leading global provider of tech-enabled solutions focused on improving the health and wellbeing of its members, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Welltok, the award-winning health activation company. Combining Welltok’s activation engine with Virgin Pulse’s daily engagement platform will drive better health outcomes and cost reductions for the companies’ combined 4,100 global employer, health plan and health system clients.

“This acquisition is the culmination of years of work to establish a game-changing approach to improving health and reducing costs for employers, health plans and health systems,” said Chris Michalak, CEO of Virgin Pulse. “Combining our organizations will allow us to optimize the health of millions by keeping them continually engaged and activated, which will ultimately reduce costs for clients, members, consumers, and patients. Integrating Welltok’s personalization and analytics capabilities into Homebase for Health® will deliver exponentially more value for our clients and their respective populations. In the near term, we will be identifying quick wins out the gate for our clients and consumers, scaling existing programs and introducing a superior activation engine.”

Virgin Pulse is widely recognized for delivering digital and live solutions that foster long-term behavior changes by engaging users in cultivating daily habits that improve outcomes across all aspects of their health and wellbeing. Welltok is known for activating people at the individual level by combining social determinants of health data with robust predictive analytics capabilities while leveraging multiple communication channels (text/SMS, email, interactive voice response (IVR) calls, social media, etc.) to maximize reach.

Welltok’s proprietary activation engine is focused on motivating consumers, employees, patients and members to complete targeted actions like participating in a mental health program, refilling a medication, or closing a gap in care. Delivering these capabilities as part of Virgin Pulse’s Homebase for Health® will create a more personalized user experience and expedite outcomes and cost savings for clients and consumers by making it easier to initiate and complete meaningful actions that improve health and wellbeing.

With this acquisition, Virgin Pulse will introduce the industry’s first end-to-end engagement and activation platform that supports clients, members, and consumers across the entire health continuum by:

• Leveraging the industry’s most comprehensive consumer database for 275 million lives and over 1,000 predictive analytics models that target individuals with up to 90% accuracy, based on risk, receptivity and likelihood to take action via various outreach modalities. This comprehensive database is a powerful tool that can help employers, health plans and health systems generate social determinants of health insights to proactively address and reduce health disparities and close care gaps across diverse populations, including Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid members who are at increased risk.
• Delivering personalized, digital-first health solutions that combine technology, gamification, behavior science, live specialist support and a robust ecosystem into a unified, seamless experience to engage users in improving their health and wellbeing every day.
• Targeting activation across a broad range of individuals including employees, patients, consumers, and health plan members, including Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid populations, to drive tangible health outcomes through multi-channel outreach and motivating them with integrated incentives. This “surround-sound” activation, when amplified through a platform that users interact with on a daily basis, acts as an engagement multiplier and is a key driver of health and wellbeing outcomes.

Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Virgin Pulse is backed by Marlin Equity Partners, a global investment firm with over $7.7 billion of capital under management. Evercore and Lazard acted as financial advisors, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Virgin Pulse. UBS Securities LLC acted as financial advisor and Shearman & Sterling LLP served as legal advisor to Welltok.

About Virgin Pulse
Virgin Pulse is the leading global provider of health and wellbeing solutions designed to drive outcomes and reduce costs by enabling better decision-making across the full care continuum — from prevention and wellbeing to pre-chronic and chronic disease management to episodic and acute care. Featuring the industry’s only true Homebase for Health^®, a personalized ecosystem where Virgin Pulse clients and members can access, navigate and interact with their health, wellbeing and benefits in one, trusted and familiar place, Virgin Pulse’s solutions fuse high-tech, high-touch, predictive analytics, AI and data to unify and simplify health and wellbeing. Today, thousands of organizations and over 14 million users in more than 190 countries are using Virgin Pulse to change their lives – and businesses – for good. For more tips and insights, connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Welltok
Welltok drives consumer actions that matter. Only Welltok can predict with up to 90% accuracy people’s needs and their likelihood to take action, and engage them with integrated multi-channel outreach to maximize results. By delivering personalized content and resources, Welltok ensures more individuals take critical actions like scheduling an annual check-up, selecting insurance coverage or refilling medications. As the award-winning consumer activation company, healthcare organizations and others trust Welltok to connect with their populations in meaningful ways.

press@virginpulse.com