Philips upbeat on prospects for new image-guided therapy platform

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Philips (PHG.AS) on Wednesday announced the introduction of a new platform for image guided therapy which enables doctors to combine the use of several medical scanners, imaging data and large screen displays as they perform minimally-invasive surgeries.

CEO Frans van Houten told reporters he expected the platform to replace the company's existing "systems" portfolio and form the backbone of Philips' guided imaging therapy business in the future.

Philips sold its lighting arm in may and now describes itself as a pure "healthtech" company.

The "Azurion" platform took five years and "tens of millions" of euros to develop, Philips said.

The company's Image Guided Therapy sales were 1.9 billion euros in 2016. Philips said on Wednesday the business would grow at a "high single digit" rate, faster than the mid-single digit range forecast for the company as a whole.

The Azurion platform will be manufactured in the Netherlands and has been approved for use in Europe and the United States.

Philips said the system's strength lies in its flexibility and ease of use in a range of surgeries, including catheter-based treatment of tumours, aneurysms, obstructed blood vessels, heart rhythm disorders and defective heart valves.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling. Editing by Jane Merriman)