Philips brings AI into the procedure room to assist doctors during heart valve repair
November 17, 2025
Innovation uses AI to track and visualize tiny repair devices* through the beating heart, helping clinicians navigate in 3D with enhanced clarity and confidence**
Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG, AEX: PHIA)), a global leader in health technology, today introduced DeviceGuide, an AI-powered device tracking* solution that assists physicians during one of interventional cardiology's most technically demanding procedures: repairing leaking heart valves through a minimally invasive approach. Built on Philips' EchoNavigator platform, this software brings AI directly into the procedure room, translating complex imaging into intuitive, real-time visual guidance that helps clinicians navigate the beating heart with greater clarity and confidence. It will be previewed at London Valves 2025 (November 16-18), one of the world's leading meetings for structural heart specialists.
"With DeviceGuide, we're bringing AI into the heart of the procedure room, and into the heart itself," said Dr. Atul Gupta, Chief Medical Officer, Diagnosis & Treatment at Philips. "This is Philips' first AI assisting physicians in real time to visualize and guide heart valve treatment devices* as they navigate the beating heart. It's helping doctors in the moment as they are helping their patients with structural heart disease."
Minimally invasive treatment of the mitral valve
A leaking heart valve, known as mitral valve regurgitation, is a condition in which blood leaks backward through the heart's mitral valve. It affects more than 35 million [1] adults worldwide, leaving many short of breath, fatigued, and struggling with everyday activities like climbing stairs or walking short distances. Many also live with anxiety or fear, knowing their heart isn't pumping efficiently. If left untreated, severe cases can lead to heart failure and other serious complications.
For patients who are too frail for open-heart surgery, minimally invasive transcatheter repair techniques such as mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) offer a vital treatment option. During these procedures, physicians repair a leaking valve through a tiny incision in the top of the leg in the groin area, guiding long, flexible instruments through the blood veins and navigating a miniature repair device into the beating heart.
Clinicians must view and interpret both X-ray and ultrasound images on multiple screens, coordinate movements between two operators, and make precise adjustments to grasp the moving valve leaflets, position the repair device, and confirm the result in real time. The process demands accuracy, coordination, and experience from the team. This is where DeviceGuide can help with its 3D navigation support.
How AI is helping
DeviceGuide uses an AI algorithm to automatically track the tiny repair device as it moves through the beating heart, intelligently combining live echo and X-ray images. It creates a virtual 3D model of the treatment device in real time, superimposed on the live images of the beating heart. This allows clinicians to see where the device is and in which direction it is pointing, providing a clear view of the procedure and potentially enabling them to navigate the device more easily to effectively seal the leak.
"The AI software serves as an assistive tool, with the physician always remaining in control. This isn't about replacing expertise – it's about amplifying it," added Dr. Atul Gupta. "By embedding AI into the procedure, DeviceGuide gives physicians an extra pair of eyes, effectively bionic vision, helping them treat more patients safely and confidently."
Collaboration with Edwards Lifesciences
This innovation was developed in close collaboration with Edwards Lifesciences, the manufacturer of these repair devices. The solution combines Philips' expertise in medical imaging and AI technologies with Edwards' global leadership in structural heart innovation. Together, the companies have reimagined key parts of the mitral TEER procedural workflow.
"DeviceGuide demonstrates the impact of combining leading imaging and therapy expertise to develop solutions designed around the procedural workflow, a model that will shape the future of AI-enabled image-guided structural interventions," said Mark Stoffels, Business Leader, Image Guided Therapy Systems.
This solution illustrates how Philips' imaging and AI expertise can merge with the insights of leading therapy companies to innovate procedural workflows. This kind of collaboration is a model for developing the next generation of AI-enabled, image-guided innovations, centered on the needs of clinicians and their patients.
Read more on how Philips DeviceGuide works here.
[1] MDPI
Philips DeviceGuide enabled by EchoNavigator R5 is not available for sale or use in all countries. Its availability is subject to local regulatory clearance and market release. Please contact your Philips representative for details on product availability in your region.
*DeviceGuide is currently intended for use only with the Mitral TEER Therapy Device (Edwards PASCAL Ace).
**DeviceGuide assists physicians in visualizing and navigating the repair device within the heart. It supports, but does not perform, the therapeutic procedure itself.
For further information, please contact:
Joost Maltha
Philips Global External Relations
Tel.: +31 61 05 58 16
E-mail: [email protected]
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG, AEX: PHIA)) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being through meaningful innovation. Philips' patient- and people-centric innovation leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver personal health solutions for consumers and professional health solutions for healthcare providers and their patients in the hospital and the home.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, image-guided therapy, monitoring and enterprise informatics, as well as in personal health. Philips generated 2024 sales of EUR 18 billion and employs approximately 67,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
Attachments
