New Philips Solution Helps Reduce Patient Anxiety During Interventional Procedures

Royal Philips has announced commercial availability of Ambient Experience with FlexVision display, the company’s new solution for interventional rooms. The solution will be showcased at the American College of Cardiology’s 71st Annual Scientific Session & Expo, April 2-4, Washington, D.C.

Connecting to Philips Image Guided Therapy System - Azurion, it uses the system’s large display to offer patients a calming multi-sensory experience while staff prepare them for their procedure, prior to the display being used for the actual intervention. It also allows patients and interventional team members to adapt the room’s ambient lighting and sound to add to the overall feeling of calm, especially during the patient entry and preparation phases of procedures. Aimed at reducing patient anxiety during interventional procedures, Ambient Experience, leveraging FlexVision display, has the potential to improve the patient and staff experience, positively impact outcomes, and enhance workflows and productivity.

Anxiety in patients undergoing minimally-invasive image-guided therapy typically peaks immediately before the procedure is performed. As a result, sedative drugs and general anesthesia are commonly used in interventional rooms to ensure patients lie still during procedures. Mitigating the clinical atmosphere associated with typical interventional rooms by introducing positive elements that distract, inform, educate, and empower patients, Philips Ambient Experience aims to reduce patient anxiety to a level where interventionists can operate more productively and efficiently. For example, the solution could reduce the overall procedure time and, in some cases, reduce the costs associated with patient sedation or general anesthesia [1].

“One factor in our decision to use Philips’ solution is that along with the patient experience, it has been shown that you can use less anesthesia in some cases due to the relaxing and distracting factors of Ambient Experience. We wanted to set ourselves apart from other labs,” said Victor Hall, Vice President of the Heart and Vascular Institute, Baptist Health Care Pensacola, Florida.

“Interventional procedures can be challenging for patients, especially those who are anxious about the intervention and the outcome,” said Werner Satter, General Manager Ambient Experience at Philips. “With the addition of Ambient Experience connected to FlexVision display, which is part of Philips Image Guided Therapy System – Azurion, we address the atmosphere and mood of the room by offering active relaxation opportunities for patients and staff.”

In addition to the system’s library of pre-recorded themes, Ambient Experience also connects to media devices such as mobile phones and tablets, adding a powerful element of interactivity and choice so that patients and staff can enjoy an even more personalized experience. Single-touch control allows interventional room staff to switch between customized presets and optimal lighting and audio settings for each phase of a procedure.

Philips Ambient Experience applies evidence-based, human-focused innovation and design thinking to give patients and staff an engaging and pleasant experience, while also improving the efficiency of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and building confidence in the services and reputation of healthcare facilities. Reduced patient anxiety contributes to better patient and staff experiences and potentially better patient outcomes, while improved efficiency contributes to lower cost of care, helping healthcare providers meet all four aspects of the Quadruple Aim.  

Ambient Experience has a wide range of healthcare application areas. In the radiology department of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales (Cardiff, UK), where it provides an immersive interactive experience for children from the moment they arrive, a patient-satisfaction study showed that Philips Ambient Experience achieved high net promoter scores [2].

[1] A fresh perspective from the interventional suite – research paper, Philips 2021.
[2] Results from case studies are not predictive of results in other cases. Results in other cases may vary.