Vascular surgery is generally very invasive. With LumiGuide (left), Philips is replacing a large proportion of conventional X-ray imaging with fibre-optic technology.

Guide wires and catheters are made visible in three dimensions and in colour using light, whilst a pre-recorded CT scan serves as an anatomical map. This allows the doctor to track the instruments from any desired angle, which simplifies navigation and significantly reduces exposure to X-rays for both the patient and the treatment team.

The technology has been developed for endovascular procedures, such as the treatment of aortic aneurysms. As the entire shape of the guidewire and catheter remains continuously visible, the doctor has a better spatial understanding than with traditional two-dimensional X-ray images. As a result, procedures need only be minimally invasive: a small incision is sufficient. Recovery is faster and hospitals can treat more patients in the same amount of time.

Philips sees LumiGuide as a first step towards interventions in which X-ray radiation is hardly needed at all during navigation. LumiGuide, co-developed with UMC Utrecht, also illustrates a broader vision of interventional medicine. The focus is no longer on a single, standalone device, but on a complete treatment workflow, in which imaging, software and medical devices are integrated into a single system that supports doctors throughout the entire procedure.

Artificial intelligence also plays a role in this. AI will not replace the doctor, emphasises Atul Gupta, Chief Medical Officer for Diagnosis & Treatment at Philips and a surgeon himself. However, AI does make relevant information available at the right moment, which simplifies the work of the medical team.