Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) has announced the installation of its 50th Ambient Experience suite at Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. The catheterization (cath) lab suite installed at Fairview, one of the hospitals in the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic Health System, is an interactive, people-focused healthcare environment that combines design and technology to create a more comfortable experience for patients and staff, potentially increasing operational effectiveness.

In addition to Fairview Hospital, The Villages Regional Hospital in The Villages, Florida, and King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have completed installations of Ambient Experience cath lab suites in January 2008. Royal Charite Hospital in Berlin, Germany also completed an Ambient Experience MR suite installation.

Philips' Ambient Experience integrates architecture, design and enabling technologies, such as lighting, sound, projection and RFID, to allow patients to personalize their environment and wrap themselves in a relaxing ambience. By calming the patient, Ambient Experience can help procedures progress more smoothly, making the clinician's job easier. The design also eliminates unnecessary physical barriers in the imaging suite for better patient and staff interaction.
"Entering the cath lab for a heart procedure can be very scary for patients, so allowing them to choose the lighting and sound to create an environment such as a beach setting, can help to put them at ease with their surroundings," said Victor Hall, vice president of cardiac services at Fairview Hospital. "The lighting actually makes our lab appear bigger, which helps to calm patients and alleviate feelings of claustrophobia. In addition, the Ambient lab has created a more comfortable and soothing environment for our doctors and nurses to perform procedures."

The Philips Ambient Experience was conceived on the premise of providing a positive environment for patients and healthcare professionals to enhance clinical processes and patient care. As part of the company's focus on ways people and technology can interact in a more comfortable, natural way, Philips paid special attention to patient-friendly environments for healthcare facilities. By incorporating leading-edge design elements, advanced medical technology, sophisticated lighting and consumer-friendly electronics, the Philips Ambient Experience creates a soothing and pleasing environment for hospital patients of all ages.

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