PHILIPS MEDICAL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES LTD

Their core work

Philips Medical Systems Technologies Ltd is the Israeli R&D arm of Philips Healthcare, based in Haifa, and specializes in advanced medical imaging hardware — specifically spectral photon counting CT (computed tomography) scanners. Their core contribution to EU research is the physical scanner technology itself: they bring prototype or commercial-grade spectral CT systems that can distinguish materials at the molecular level, enabling research consortia to run experiments impossible on conventional scanners. Beyond pure imaging, their recent work extends the scanner into a therapeutic role — using X-ray photons from the CT machine to activate photosensitizing nanoparticles and trigger cancer cell death. In EU consortia, they function as the hardware and technology provider that makes the science possible.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first H2020 project (SPCCT, 2016–2021) was purely about the imaging technology: demonstrating that spectral photon counting CT could perform in vivo molecular imaging in vascular diseases — essentially proving the scanner's diagnostic power. The follow-on project (SCANnTREAT, 2020–2024) pivots the same technology from diagnosis to therapy, using the CT scanner's X-ray output to trigger photodynamic treatment of tumors. The direction of travel is clear: Philips Israel is repositioning spectral CT from a diagnostic tool into a theranostic platform — one device that can both image and treat.

They are moving toward theranostics — combining imaging and therapy in a single CT session — which suggests future collaborations will likely involve oncology, nanomedicine, and treatment planning rather than pure diagnostics.

How they like to work

Philips Medical Systems Technologies always participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with a large industrial company contributing proprietary technology rather than leading academic consortia. With 13 partners across 2 projects, they work in mid-sized multi-national groups, bringing the hardware that academic and clinical partners cannot access elsewhere. This makes them a high-value but non-leading partner: essential to the science, but reliant on others to drive the project management.

Their 13 unique consortium partners span 6 countries, suggesting well-connected European research networks in medical imaging and oncology. As an Israeli company, their participation reflects Israel's association with Horizon 2020, bridging Israeli industrial R&D into European academic-clinical consortia.

What sets them apart

Philips Medical Systems Technologies brings something most consortium partners simply cannot replicate: access to a working spectral photon counting CT scanner for experimental use, backed by Philips' engineering support. This is not a software simulation or a lab prototype — it is the industrial-grade imaging system that the entire research chain depends on. For any consortium working on advanced CT-based diagnostics or CT-triggered therapies, this Haifa R&D unit is the entry point to Philips' global medical imaging infrastructure.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPCCT
  The larger of the two projects (EUR 1,505,000) and the foundational one — it established Philips' spectral photon counting CT as a viable platform for molecular imaging in vascular disease, paving the way for all subsequent work.
• SCANnTREAT
  A conceptually bold project that repurposes a diagnostic CT scanner as a cancer treatment trigger, combining Philips' imaging hardware with photodynamic therapy and hybrid nanoparticles in a single theranostic workflow.