Philips introduces SmartIQ to address the trade-off between image quality and radiation dose in coronary procedures

Physicians are using Philips Azurion with SmartIQ technology during an medical procedure. GNW

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May 18, 2026     

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Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced Philips SmartIQ, a breakthrough coronary imaging technology for its Azurion image-guided therapy. Developed in collaboration with leading cardiovascular centers, SmartIQ is designed to address one of the field’s most fundamental challenges: the trade-off between image quality and radiation exposure for patients and clinical staff. It aims to empower clinicians with exceptional image quality, enabling them to see exactly what they need, while it aims to provide reassurance that X-ray dose and contrast levels are optimized.

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“With this new imaging technology, we can go really low in dose and achieve even better image quality. It’s a win-win,” said Dr. Mark Winkens, Interventional Cardiologist at Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

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Philips will showcase SmartIQ at EuroPCR 2026 (May 19–22, Paris, France), where attendees can experience the technology firsthand and hear directly from early clinical adopters. During dedicated clinical sessions, clinicians will share initial case experiences and present real-world multicenter results. Leveraging Philips’ strong track record in evidence generation, the first blinded clinical pilot study evaluating SmartIQ was recently published in Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions. The study suggests that the algorithm scored higher on image quality and was preferred in the vast majority of blinded comparisons, while maintaining or lowering radiation and contrast dose.

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The technology builds on Philips’ industry-leading ClarityIQ platform, which has previously been associated with radiation exposure reductions between 23% and 83%, depending on the clinical area [3]. In parallel, further strengthening Philips’ evidence-generation efforts, the ongoing RADIQAL trial is designed to assess the impact of SmartIQ on radiation dose compared to ClarityIQ while maintaining procedural performance. The study has recently reached 60% of total enrollment and completed enrollment at European sites, marking an important milestone. Final study completion and results are expected in due course.

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SmartIQ represents the next step forward in image quality and dose management for coronary imaging. It includes an ultra-low dose protocol for coronary procedures that employs over 50% less X-ray radiation dose compared with the lowest dose settings available with Philips ClarityIQ [1]. This setting aims to enable acquisition of coronary cine runs at fluoroscopy dose levels, depending on system and clinical conditions [4].

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“For too long, clinicians have had to choose between image quality and radiation dose during coronary procedures,” said Mark Stoffels, Business Leader Image-Guided Therapy Systems at Philips. “With our breakthrough SmartIQ technology, we believe that trade-off no longer has to define coronary imaging. This is not an incremental step forward – it represents one of Philips’ boldest advances yet in helping clinicians see what they need while aiming to further reduce exposure for patients and clinical teams.”

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“Image quality is the foundation of every decision we make in the cath lab. SmartIQ has genuinely surprised us. It delivers the clarity we need at very low radiation dose levels,” said Dr. Nicolaj Brejnholt Støttrup, Interventional Cardiologist at Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark.