Royal Philips has recently announced its plans to elevate its HealthSuite Imaging PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) capabilities by utilizing the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS). This initiative has the potential to influence how healthcare providers manage and process medical imaging data, bringing forth a new era of efficiency and innovation in medical imaging technology.The integration of Philips HealthSuite Imaging with Amazon HealthLake Imaging is a strategic move that aims to leverage the advanced capabilities of AWS for the automation of storage, access, and analysis of imaging data. This shift to the cloud is a strategic alignment with the growing trend of digital transformation in the healthcare sector. By adopting a cloud-based approach, Philips aims to enhance its platform with the development of AI-driven tools and applications, which are expected to streamline the imaging workflow.
Shez Partovi, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer and Business Leader Enterprise Informatics at Philips, outlined the importance of this move in the context of increasing pressures on healthcare systems. The focus of clinicians has gradually shifted from technical specifications to the efficiency of workflows, which directly contributes to more accurate and timely diagnoses. The transition of Philips’ imaging technology to the cloud is anticipated to leverage the security, reliability, and extensive capabilities of AWS, thereby supporting healthcare organizations in their mission to deliver high-quality care. This move will ease the workload and cognitive burden on healthcare staff, making the healthcare delivery process more efficient and less prone to errors.One of the main features of this collaboration is the increased scalability and speed it brings to the imaging process. By integrating with AWS, Philips HealthSuite Imaging can offer rapid time to the first image, a factor in emergency and time-sensitive medical scenarios. This integration will also expand Philips’ data orchestration capabilities, enhancing the workflow for radiologists and clinicians throughout the entire imaging process, including diagnosis, therapy selection, treatment planning, and patient follow-up.
Transitioning to AWS cloud also presents cost-saving opportunities for healthcare providers. It eliminates the need for physical hardware and data centers that were previously necesssary for hosting Philips’ imaging technology. By reducing the reliance on on-premises infrastructure, healthcare organizations can decrease expenses associated with hardware maintenance and data center operations. Cloud-based solutions offer the flexibility for clinicians to access the latest innovations and imaging tools from any location, thus facilitating better patient care and more effective medical decision-making. Another positive aspect of this partnership is the development of generative AI tools utilizing Amazon Bedrock and Foundation Models. These tools, powered by machine learning algorithms, are designed to handle large volumes of data and perform tasks that are more complex than those handled by traditional AI models. This advancement is expected to enhance PACS image processing capabilities, simplify clinical workflows, and improve voice recognition technologies in imaging analysis.
Swami Sivasubramanian, Vice President of Database, Analytics, and Machine Learning at AWS, explained the broader implications of this collaboration for healthcare organizations. He points out that healthcare providers are increasingly seeking ways to decrease operational costs, improve health data interoperability, and enable data-driven decision-making to enhance patient-centered care. The democratization of access to generative AI and the application of Foundation Models are seen as a driver in supporting clinical decision-making, increasing diagnostic accuracy, and automating administrative tasks. This approach is expected to improve radiologists’ workflows and reduce the cognitive load and clinician burnout, thereby improving overall healthcare delivery. The collaboration between Philips and AWS includes providing migration expertise, planning services, and total-cost-of-ownership analysis. It also involves offering cybersecurity technical expertise, which is required in ensuring the safe and secure transition from on-premises to cloud-based solutions. This comprehensive support package is designed to facilitate a simplistic migration for customers, ensuring that healthcare providers can fully leverage the benefits of cloud-based imaging solutions without facing operational challenges beyond their means.
