135 years of Philips: an innovation diary
From Metalix to LumiGuide
On May 15, Philips will be celebrating having been in business for no less than 135 years. Over the course of all those years, Philips has not only brought an unimaginable number of innovations to the market, but has also managed to reinvent itself time and again. In this story, we will be following the path of history from 1891 to 2026, and you will learn what a light bulb from 1891 has to do with today's healthcare innovations. Our story begins, 135 years ago, on the Emmasingel in Eindhoven…
1891: Gerard Philips makes his first light bulbs 1895: Wilhelm Röntgen creates the first X-ray In his test room in Germany, Wilhelm Röntgen makes a discovery that will change the future of healthcare forever. He calls Mrs. Röntgen into his study and asks her to place her hand under a machine. A moment later, the woman gets the shock of her life. She sees a skeleton with a floating wedding ring. Her wedding ring. It is the very first X-ray.
Gerard Philips begins producing his first light bulbs in a factory in Eindhoven. To do so, he uses a complex process of various chemical reactions and glass bulbs, produced in red-hot ovens. Electronic light literally meant days lasted longer, as all sorts of activities could now take place after sunset.
Frederik Philips, founder of the Philips company and father of Anton and Gerard, hears about this technique and immediately writes to his sons. The family does not fail to recognize the potential.
1924: Philips presents Metalix
It took a while, but in 1924 Philips finally demonstrated its innovation of the X-ray tube in London: the Metalix. The Metalix was much safer than existing X-ray tubes, due to an extra metal layer. It was thought up by Gilles Holst and Albert Bouwers. They worked at the Natlab, Philips' research laboratory.
Gilles watched employees of the light bulb factory dip metal blowpipes into piping hot molten glass to make the glass bulbs. After a series of tests at the Natlab, Holst succeeded in bonding chromium iron and glass. Another scientist, Albert Bouwers, subsequently developed this into the Metalix: a glass cylinder with a chrome-iron, airtight ring. The effect of this ring? Far fewer harmful X-rays were released during a scan. In one fell swoop, Philips had the most advanced product in X-ray technology.
1930: The entire city of Eindhoven undergoes a preventive tuberculosis scan
Around 1940, Philips saw an opportunity not only to innovate healthcare technology but also to increase access to care. When the Netherlands was wrestling with a major tuberculosis outbreak, Philips used its own X-ray equipment to scan first Philips employees, then their families, and finally the entire population of the city of Eindhoven as a preventive measure. The result: The spread of tuberculosis in Eindhoven was 70% lower than in the rest of the Netherlands. Shortly after that, tuberculosis scans were being performed all over the Netherlands. By radically increasing access to care, Philips managed to prevent a large number of infections.
1970: Years of innovation leads to a microchip revolution
In the years after the Second World War, Philips continued to innovate at a rapid pace. A diverse portfolio in both healthcare and consumer technology became Philips' trademark. Every household owned something containing Philips technology, and the hospital sector was close behind. In a short time, Philips introduced the Polytome (precursor to the CT scanner, 1951), the BV20 (an X-ray system for surgery, 1954), mammography systems (1967), and neutron therapy systems (1974). Furthermore, at the NatLab, Philips engineers developed the LOCOS technique for manufacturing microchips. This step would prove indispensable for the major advances in microchip technology in the years that followed.
1980: The digital revolution expands access to care
Philips continued to grow rapidly and exponentially. In healthcare, but also in consumer technology. With the invention of the CD (and CD player), the company set in motion a revolution in which the reading and storage of digital information – data – plays an increasingly important role in all branches of technology. The same was true for the medical world. Large and heavy X-ray scans and files containing patient information were digitized and exchanged much more efficiently between various healthcare institutions. The Philips philosophy was reinforced once again: access to healthcare continued to expand.
2003: More comfort through the Ambient Experience
Accessible and innovative: those values also laid the foundation for the Ambient Experience. In the Ambient Experience, a 'scan room' is holistically designed, with – among other things – special lighting, to ensure it is as soothing and comfortable as possible. Because although feeling nervous during an MRI scan is perfectly normal, it is essential to a successful outcome that the patient is relaxed. A unique collaboration between researchers, designers, and medical professionals, with a demonstrable effect on patient well-being.
2017: Navigating during medical procedures with the Azurion
Philips developed the Azurion platform for image-guided treatments, in which organs and tissue are visualized with razor-sharp clarity. During the treatment, a doctor can 'navigate through the body' and, moreover, directly access all patient-related images, such as scans and 3D visualizations, on the screen. There are now many versions of the Azurion, all of which build on the principle of image-guided therapy for performing both routine and complex interventions. Treatments with the Azurion are often faster, more precise, and safer, thanks to the lower dose of X-ray radiation.
2025: LumiGuide completes a cycle of light and care
During the RSNA Conference in Chicago, Philips announces the commercial launch of LumiGuide. Building on the Azurion platform, LumiGuide brings light-based innovation to image-guided therapy. LumiGuide is the first solution that uses light to visualize the shape and position of LumiGuide wires and endovascular catheters specifically designed for this purpose in real time and in 3D inside the body, without the use of X-ray radiation. Simply put: where light once inspired the development of X-ray technology, light continues to shape innovation today.
2026 – …: The next healthcare revolution: Artificial Intelligence
Although the story has come full circle, Philips is far from finished innovating. The next revolution is already coming up, and Philips is leading the way. LumiGuide uses AI to quickly and accurately align each image with the patient's anatomy. With this technology, clinicians can navigate accurately, while radiation exposure for both patients and clinical staff is significantly reduced.
And this is just one example. Philips is innovating across all business lines using AI to further increase access to care. The ultimate goal being: to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people worldwide every year. The innovations in this chronicle are just the tip of the iceberg. For even after 135 years, our passion for improving lives is as alive as ever.
