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Finding common ground

Fons actually studied Electrical Engineering, but he and Marco agree that the different studies do not make much of a difference to the common ground they share. "I see it as some kind of forest," says Fons. "Where the crowns of the trees are all connected to each other. I also prefer working with people from different backgrounds. Then you can complement and strengthen one another." Marco: “That is also true within Philips. Many people with different backgrounds, knowledge and skills work together and this diversity adds great value to the process of finding solutions." 

Fons, who received his PhD (cum laude), recently received a prize for his PhD thesis. Philips Research sponsored the prize and Hans Hofstraat (Vice President of  Philips Research) personally awarded Fons with the prize—in recognition of the quality of his research on esophageal cancer and the practical application possibilities of his findings in practice. "Esophageal cancer is becoming more common and is even the fastest growing form of cancer in the Western world. Early detection is therefore important to increase the chances of healing," says Hans. Fons' work uses digital techniques to detect esophageal cancer earlier and better using advanced image processing. Hans: "He links excellent research to an important application and has bridged the gap between the TU/e and expert centers in the area of esophageal cancer, such as the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven and the AMC in Amsterdam."

Sweet spot

That recognition from the business world is worth a lot, Fons and Marco agree. Fons: "In my work I am not only busy with research, but also with teaching and obtaining funding. The latter is a lot easier if the business sees value." Why did he win the award and leave his 'competitors' behind? “All nominees could have won; so many beautiful things are happening. I think I was just in a sweet spot. I am treating a social problem, and came up with something innovative and relevant. Incidentally, I am only a blip on the big picture radar of those working to improve healthcare. But I am helping to push the huge stone up the mountain." 

Both men acknowledge that that’s not an easy task. Marco: "But this is where a nice collaboration with a university, clinical partners, and hospitals comes into play. Certain studies really start out more visionary within the academy and often in collaboration with clinical partners, for example with developing algorithms that can detect cancer. But before an industrial partner like Philips can convert this into a product, the technology must first be sufficiently 'mature' and have a certain level of accuracy.

The cooperation between academia, hospital and industry is the ideal triangle for the development and validation of new technology. How do you offer that new technology? Do you rely on the algorithm, does it remain human work, or is it the combination? " Fons: "My vision is clear: there is a growing amount of information available for specialists due to the ever increasing capabilities of medical imaging equipment. Algorithms are there to reduce that to something that they can process. Algorithms never get tired and are not limited. No medical specialist can compete with that." Marco: "That also fits in perfectly with Philips' vision. Hans Hofstraat described this as follows: 'AI solutions support the care provider with the relief of routine work and help him to make a quick and optimal decision for a specific patient on the basis of all available relevant information.' Philips would rather not talk about artificial intelligence, but instead about adaptive intelligence technology, which takes both the user and the specific context into account."

Validation

"But when is the technology sufficiently 'matured' that it can actually be applied to new patients”, asks Marco. “When do we dare to use deep learning techniques for diagnostics? That is a very important question in the whole process." Fons: "You really need clinical partners to determine the requirements that such a system must meet. But you also need the business community, because they know what technical requirements are feasible for eventually implementing it in the clinic." Marco also sees a role for the business community there. "If we want the new technology to really come to the patient, sufficient investments must also be made to come to a proper validation. The biggest challenge in creating new solutions is not their development, but the successful implementation in the user environment." 

"The good news, however, is that we, as Philips, look to establish concrete partnerships,” Marco continues. “We do this for both the short and long term, for example by working in a triangle partnership with academia, hospital and industry on subsidized projects. Each of us is committed for the long term. Fons looks ahead to the future - as a company and together with hospitals – to ensure the necessary data can be generated and processed. As an industry, we can also pick out the low-hanging fruit from the research, with less critical claims, so that we can bring about improvements for the patient quicker, and which we can then build upon later. As a company, we really rely on their work. And every year that Fons continues his work, bears us more fruit tomorrow. This is how the academia-industry-hospital triangle gradually introduces new technology into patient care. These kinds of relationships offer so many opportunities, also in the long term." Both Marco and Fons believe that investing in training and talent is of great importance. Fons, who teaches at the TU/e University, finds it fantastic every time he excites a student. Marco: "We also need the people you train at Philips. Once again I quote from Hans Hofstraat: 'Technology is the key to our future prosperity and offers solutions for the major challenges in healthcare.' He also rightly calls for more money for technical studies. This should not be seen as a cost item, but as an investment in the interests of everyone."