Philips enhances diagnostic and monitoring technologies by extending cardiac assessment and measurement capabilities across its portfolio; New products and features enhance clinicians' ability to focus on the patient.

ANDOVER, Mass. -- Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today introduced new healthcare solutions at the 2005 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions that quickly and more easily capture vital cardiac assessment and measurement information. Among these new technologies are the Philips HD11 XE, an "all-in-one" ultrasound system designed to meet the needs of diverse patient populations, as well as Philips ST Map, a new addition to the growing set of clinical decision support tools available on Philips IntelliVue patient monitors, providing an innovative graphical display of the heart rhythm's ST segment.

Additionally, Philips will demonstrate the MRx defibrillator/monitor with Q-CPR. Q-CPR is the first technology cleared by the FDA that provides real-time cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) monitoring and feedback for advanced life support (ALS) trained responders, as well as the Philips HeartStart FR2+ with SMART CPR, the first Automated External Defibrillator (AED) that advises the user whether to provide an immediate defibrillation shock, or CPR followed by a shock, to a victim of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

"While Philips continues to bring advanced medical technologies to market, we recognize that our larger responsibility is to ensure these technologies are easy to use and designed around the needs of clinicians so they can strengthen their focus on patient care," said John Desch, vice president marketing, North America, for Philips Medical Systems. "The role of cardiac medical technology within the care cycle is growing at a tremendous speed. Physicians are able to diagnose conditions sooner and with more confidence, potentially leading to more targeted treatment for patients."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 22 million adults in the United States have heart disease. Advances in treatment and technology for heart disease have improved life expectancy for these individuals in the past few decades. Research into improvements in heart attack survival suggests that around 70 percent of the survival improvement in heart attack mortality is a result of changes in technology.(1)

Delivering Easier to Use Systems with Higher Quality Images

The newest version of the HD11 ultrasound system, the Philips HD11 XE is a compact and elegantly designed "all-in-one" system that puts a wide range of necessary tools -- diagnosis, assessment, procedure guidance, and monitoring -- all at clinicians' fingertips. It is designed to work with a broad range of transducers -- more than 20 -- allowing clinicians to select the transducer that best fits their patient without having to change systems.

The new HD11 XE (extreme edition) adds a variety of features to help physicians more accurately measure heart chambers, wall motion and ejection fraction. Features like a flat panel monitor, improved ergonomics and more powerful cardiac capabilities help physicians streamline workflow. Whether used on-cart or off-line, the system's QLAB quantification software helps physicians improve their diagnostic capability by providing an extensive, non-invasive assessment of cardiac anatomy and function.

ST Segment Graphical Display

The ST segment is the portion of the electrocardiographic tracing that can indicate myocardial ischemia, or less-than-normal blood flow to the heart. Standard tabular displays of the data can be difficult for clinicians to interpret. Philips new ST Map graphical display is designed around the clinician. It displays ST segment changes, with the goal of helping clinicians recognize patterns and track patient progress more easily.

New Data on Philips Technology in Use

In addition to featuring new products, Philips technology also plays prominent role in research at the 2005 AHA Scientific Sessions. The following are sample titles to abstracts planned for presentation involving Philips CT technology.

--Reducing the Effective Radiation Dose in Cardiac Multi-Detector Computed Tomographic Angiography: Utility of Tissue Doppler Imaging Guided Tube Current Modulation, Tuesday, November 15, 2005: Dallas Convention Center, Hall E, Hesse, Murphy, Greenberg, Garcia, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland.

--Triage and Management of Patients Presenting to the Emergency Room with Chest Pain of Uncertain Etiology Using 64-Slice Cardiac CT, Wednesday, November 16, 2005: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm - Dallas Convention Center, A310, Rubinshtein, Halon, Gaspar, Jaffe, Karkabi, Flugelman, Kogan, Peled, Lewis, Davis, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.

All of these products and technologies will be featured at the Philips booth, #1513.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $37.66 billion (EUR 30.3 billion) in 2004. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 161,100 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

(1) Health Affairs, "Is Change Worth It," by Cutler & McClellan, 2001