Philips and Vanderbilt University Medical Center unite to define roadmap for decarbonizing radiology

May 22, 2023

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Nashville, TN, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), home to the top-ranked adult and pediatric hospitals in the Southeastern U.S., today announced a collaboration that aims to reduce the health system’s carbon footprint while determining a blueprint to guide industry efforts. The project is with the radiology department, where efforts will focus on measuring and addressing energy consumption of VUMC’s diagnostic imaging devices including MR, CT, ultrasound and X-ray. The two organizations plan to publish their findings with the aim of promoting knowledge exchange and enabling others in the industry to enhance their environmental strategies.

The healthcare industry is responsible for an estimated 7.6% of U.S. and 4.4% of global emissions [1]; with its heavy energy, equipment, and supply usage, radiology is a significant contributor to the CO₂ emissions responsible for climate change [2]. Philips will work with VUMC to collect a range of equipment lifecycle data, including radiology data and measurements of the equipment energy consumption, analyze operational workflow efficiency and interview VUMC staff and faculty to build computational models on which to run simulations. The teams will then summarize piloted interventions to test the reduction of the department’s carbon footprint.

“We consider climate care as healthcare. Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity, it’s also a responsibility. The future of radiology requires us to be cognizant, aware and proactive about addressing this issue which directly affects the communities we live in and the patients we treat,” said Reed Omary, MD, MS, Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor and Chair of Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We have a collective responsibility to help mitigate climate change, which is why we’ve entered into this collaboration. Working together will allow us to leverage Philips’ general healthcare and specific radiology expertise – as well as their own success in achieving CO₂ net-zero operations – to make important reductions in our carbon footprint.”