Customized Data Management Solution Provides Faster Diagnosis;
                 Offers Anytime, Anywhere Information Access

    ANDOVER, Mass., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Royal Philips
Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) today introduced Vequion, a new family of
clinical IT products and services, aimed at streamlining operations and
improving patient care. The Vequion family of clinical information products
and services enables unparalleled integration across legacy IT systems,
including multiple modalities and other manufacturers' equipment, as well as
customized data management based on individual or departmental preferences
used in various imaging modalities and PACS.
    A flux of new high-tech imaging technologies are enabling healthcare
organizations to cut costs, streamline operations and improve patient care
through tighter integration and better management of their IT infrastructure.
According to industry research firm Gartner Group, IT solutions that
capitalize on current hardware and software without requiring significant
re-investment, time-intensive implementation or extensive staff training, meet
these needs without compromising the quality of patient care.
    Vequion clinical IT products and services seamlessly integrate and enhance
current technologies, while creating compatibility across multiple, disparate
systems. Vequion is a commitment to eliminate the boundaries that hamper
workflow, increase costs and impede quality of care.
    "Vequion provides the industry with something it has not seen before,"
said Jouko Karvinen, president and CEO, Philips Medical Systems. "For example,
ViewForum, a leading product in the Vequion family, eliminates borders between
imaging modalities and PACS, offering a consistent, highly customizable and
intelligent user interface on any work station anywhere, anytime."
    Vequion compatible products allow clinicians a fully customized data
management experience -- it actually recognizes users and presents data in the
consistent format each user prefers. This adaptability and harmonization
support department-specific workflow requirements while reducing costs,
minimizing staff training and boosting quality of care by streamlining
operations.
    Furthermore, Philips Professional Services, part of the Vequion family
offering, provides customers with integration/interfacing services, systems
implementation, clinical consulting, project/program management and training.
    Philips will be showcasing new members of the Vequion family, and several
other innovative imaging technologies this week at the Radiological Society of
North America (RSNA) annual conference in Chicago, IL, including:

     * ViewForum: One of the new software-based products within the Vequion
       family, its functionality lets customers configure a multi-modality
       workstation environment, offering much more than simply a viewing of
       clinical images. The easy-to-use software combines viewing, clinical
       applications and PACS functionality, delivering a personalized, smart
       and fluid next generation viewing experience. ViewForum Pro ('work in
       progress') is an option on ViewForum and will add real-time 3D volume
       rendering with direct manipulation. ViewForum Pro will also provide the
       ability to conduct Virtual Inspection on large datasets. The ViewForum
       user interface allows each user to establish a unique personal
       preference profile so that information, regardless of modality, is
       immediately displayed in the most efficient way for that physician to
       proceed with review and analysis.

     * MultiDiagnost Eleva Multi-Purpose X-ray System: Designed to meet
       growing customer demand for highly flexible and customizable X-ray
       capabilities, Philips' new MultiDiagnost Eleva is ideal for high and
       diverse workloads from radiographic fluoroscopy to vascular and
       interventional procedures while maintaining multifunctional
       capabilities. This X-ray system allows users to program preferences
       accommodating new patients, different exam types, multiple operators
       and parallel functions. In addition, it leverages Philips' DoseWise
       imaging technology, allowing physicians to obtain high quality images
       at the lowest possible radiation dose, and CUSTOMerCARE, Philips'
       industry-leading support program. Ensuring seamless and cost-effective
       integration in hospital networks, MultiDiagnost Eleva is compliant with
       industry standards like DICOM. The new ViewForum is fully integrated
       with the MultiDiagnost Eleva system.

     * New Mx8000 IDT 10: Philips' newest scanner, the Mx8000 IDT 10, is a
       10-slice CT scanner designed to deliver superior CT scan performance at
       an affordable price. The Mx8000 IDT 10 is a key addition to the Mx8000
       product family, based on the 16-slice platform and using the same 'look
       and feel' of the Mx8000 IDT scanner.  Easily upgradeable, the system is
       ideal for mid-sized hospitals and entrepreneurs with smaller budgets or
       larger hospitals looking for a mid-premium system. The Mx8000 IDT 10
       delivers excellent cardiac imaging capabilities and performance at a
       lower price.

     * AcQSIM-MR Radiation Planning Software: Philips' AcQSIM-MR is a new
       offering that uses MRI images to improve the treatment of cancer
       through advanced software superior to all other therapy planning
       offerings on the market today. This first of-its-kind system, includes
       Philips' Panorama 0.23T R/T open MRI -- a new MR system dedicated to
       radiation therapy planning -- and enables physicians to more accurately
       direct radiation treatment to the diseased area and spares more healthy
       tissue, positively affecting patient outcomes and reducing costs.

     * New EnVisor: Philips' EnVisor is an ultrasound system that offers
       performance and features previously unavailable for less than $100,000.
       EnVisor delivers superb clinical performance, advanced ergonomic design
       and on-board workstation capabilities in a full-featured echo system.
       EnVisor's superior features include Intelligent Doppler, patented Pulse
       Inversion Harmonic Imaging and Microfine Focusing, as well as
       integrated stress echo. In addition, it offers clinicians a number of
       unique benefits including quick access to stored data, full editing of
       images, loops and reports, excellent mobility, one-touch presets for
       exams, and CD, floppy disk, MOD and DICOM storage.

     * New Intera MR Family: Philips is introducing the newly designed Intera
       family of compact MR systems with powerful new imaging features that
       can handle every application from microscopy to whole body imaging.
       SENSE, Philips' unique parallel imaging technique, now speeds image
       acquisition by up to 600 percent, shortening exams for patients,
       decreasing motion artifacts and increasing throughput. New SENSE Head
       Coil enables extremely fast, high-quality neurological imaging in
       20 seconds. Philips' Microscopy Coil Set enables small field-of-view
       imaging, ideal for imaging of the skin, eyes, small joints and
       superficial vessels. The new Whole-Body Imaging Package enables single
       scan imaging of the entire body in less than 10 minutes, supporting
       comprehensive oncology and vascular screening. Spearheaded by Nova
       gradients, Intera's Galaxy gradients provide exceptional power for
       handling demanding applications. The improved RapidView reconstructor
       can now reconstruct 860 images per second, ideal for processing large
       data sets with ease.

     * New Panorama Open MR family: The newly designed Panorama open MR family
       delivers remarkable speed, ease of use and high quality images ideal
       for obese, pediatric or claustrophobic patients. Panorama's convenient
       sideways entry and general spaciousness makes the system extremely
       patient-friendly. The Panorama family includes the Panorama 0.6T, the
       only high-field open system with a C-arm design, and the Panorama
       0.23T, providing a new design optimized for patient comfort, faster
       reconstruction time than before (300 images/second) and new gradient
       specifications. Philips' Panorama 0.23T I/T supports MR-guided
       interventions, resulting in minimally invasive procedures, more
       targeted surgery, reduced recovery time and shorter hospital stays.
       Optional OptoGuide functionality enables real-time needle tracking.
       Philips' new Panorama 0.23T R/T is the first and only MR system to
       enable radiation therapy planning using MR data sets. The Panorama also
       features the new and consistent Philips User Interface, an essential
       element of the Vequion clinical IT family of products & services.

     * MxView: Philips' redesigned MxView CT Visualization System, developed
       specifically for multi-slice image review and manipulation, now
       features new functionalities to highlight vessel and cardiac stenosis.
       The MxView is fast, easy to use, can be integrated with any DICOM
       Scanner, and configurable to meet the needs of any size department.
       Furthermore, MxView features Vequion through integration with the new
       ViewForum viewing software.

    For more information on Philips imaging products, please visit booth #7150
and 7750.

    About Philips:
    Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest
electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $28.8 billion
(EUR 32.3 billion) in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets,
lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring,
and one-chip TV products. Its 184,000 employees in more than 60 countries are
active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances,
components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE
(symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News
from Philips is located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

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