Day: November 23, 2021

November 23, 2021

• Debut of AI-powered [1] MR 5300 1.5T system, which has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA, simplifies and automates complex clinical and operational tasks with helium-free for life MR operations, driving consistent quality and sustainability for outpatient clinic and MR departments
• Revolutionary Radiology Workflow solution, MR Workspace with AI assistance, simplifies the path from image acquisition to diagnosis, empowering technologists to drive productivity and predictability
• New MR 7700 [2] 3.0T system with multinuclear clinical capabilities is designed to deliver highest quality diffusion imaging and advanced neuroscience sequences
• Philips SmartSpeed [3], powered by leading Compressed SENSE speed engine and award-winning AI technology [4], designed to support 97% of clinical protocols

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced new AI-enabled innovations in MR imaging launching at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting (November 23 – December 2, Chicago, USA). Philips’ new MR portfolio of intelligent integrated solutions is designed to speed up MR exams, streamline workflows, optimize diagnostic quality, and help ensure the efficiency and sustainability of radiology operations.

As MR imaging plays an ever-increasing role in precision diagnosis, radiology departments face multiple challenges such as workload demands due to the backlog of cases resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing population of clinically challenging patients, and a worldwide shortage of skilled technicians. As a result, there is a clear need for smart diagnostic systems, optimized workflows, and integrated clinical solutions that reduce time-to-diagnosis, improve patient throughput, reduce the need for rescans, and enhance the patient and staff experience.

“At this year’s RSNA, we are focused on introducing scalable high performance MR systems to the imaging enterprise, with intelligent software built in to automate tasks to help relieve the burden on radiology staff and departments,” said Arjen Radder, General Manager of MR at Philips. “With AI-driven smart connected systems, optimized workflows, and integrated clinical solutions, our goal is to deliver high quality diagnostic images while also improving radiology department productivity by relieving radiologists of burdensome routine tasks so they have more time to take care of their patients.”

Among several new AI-enhanced MR innovations being launched by Philips at RSNA 2021 are Philips SmartSpeed [3], designed to speed up image acquisition and enhance image quality and diagnostic confidence for every patient, and the company’s new MR Workspace with AI assistance, which delivers an intuitive solution to simplify the path from image acquisition to diagnosis to help improve MR workflow and staff experience. Other introductions include the company’s new MR 5300 and MR 7700 smart connected systems.

Sustainable and connected smart diagnostic systems
Philips’ new MR 5300 system being introduced for the first time at RSNA 2021, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With this introduction, the company’s latest BlueSeal fully-sealed helium-free in operations MR scanner continues the advancement of a full helium-free operating portfolio of Philips MR solutions. Powered by AI, the MR 5300 simplifies and automates complex clinical and operational tasks for outpatient clinical use and MR departments to help increase access to affordable, quality care.

“At RSNA, we continue our commitment to helium-free sustainability in MR operations with new and enhanced technology to provide fast, fully automated, and highly personalized exams for every patient without compromising image quality, while also acting responsibly towards the planet and society,” Radder added.

The MR 5300’s large (55cm) field-of-view provides extended anatomical coverage, while its robust AI-powered scanning methods and easily positioned ultra-lightweight dStream Breeze coils [5] work together to generate exceptional image quality, especially when imaging challenging anatomies such as the spine and abdomen. By simplifying and automating many of the complex clinical and operational tasks involved in capturing high-quality images, MR 5300 enhances the consistency and productivity of radiology department output, helping to increase patient satisfaction scores and referral rates. Its helium-free operations make it suitable for use in outpatient clinics, as well as dedicated radiology departments.

Fully automated optimized workflows engine drives quality and efficiency
Also debuting at RSNA 2021, Philips’ new MR Workspace with AI assistance is designed to simplify the path from image acquisition to diagnosis and empower technologists – regardless of their experience or patient challenges – to drive productivity and predictability. MR Workspace’s intuitive dashboard fully automates the planning and execution of many routine scans and eliminates guesswork by suggesting the most suitable Exam Card for each patient to ensure consistency in radiology department operations.

“MR Workspace provides us with a faster turnover time in between planned patients, allowing us to prepare the examination of the next patient while the current patient is still being scanned,” said Ronald Peeters, MR Physicist at University Hospital Leuven in Belgium. “With MR Workspace, our radiology department has been able to increase our scheduling efficiency and improve productivity [5].”

Ultrafast and personalized integrated clinical solutions
Another major reveal at RSNA 2021 is Philips’ new MR 7700 system [2] integrated with multinuclear clinical capabilities to give clinical researchers the confidence to explore new imaging pathways. Researchers can also leverage the accuracy, power, and endurance of the MR 7700’s XP gradients to help facilitate demanding research programs to boost neuroscience excellence, and leverage the built-in AI technology for very high-performance clinical practice. The MR 7700’s gradient is designed to deliver the highest level of performance, state-of-the-art diffusion imaging, excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and motion detection technology to support outstanding imaging results.

The MR 7700 system’s high homogeneity and linearity bring precision to both anatomical and functional imaging, supporting confident decision making. The system aims to tackle existing, new, and future clinical and research demands, while addressing the upswing in patient volumes experienced by many of today’s radiology departments. With this latest release, Philips has expanded to five additional nuclei to advance clinical insight with more metabolic and functional information across anatomies and making Multi Nuclei imaging a part of the daily MR clinical workflow.

AI-powered technology driving high quality imaging for every patient
At RSNA 2021, Philips is also launching its new SmartSpeed [3] reconstruction platform, designed to support the latest AI innovations. The platform, which features an award winning AI algorithm (Adaptive-CS-Net) applied directly at the source of the MR signal, is the next big advance on Philips’ existing Compressed SENSE acceleration technology, further enhancing the ability to reconstruct a full image from under-sampled data while maintaining virtually equivalent image quality. The projected speed advantages will help radiology departments to significantly increase patient throughput and enhance diagnostic confidence in a wider range of patients, including patients who are in pain, who struggle to hold their breath during the exam, or who have MR conditional implants. The SmartSpeed platform is designed to support 97% of current clinical protocols.

Join Philips at RSNA 2021 where the company will spotlight its advanced technology, including its latest AI-enhanced MR portfolio, driving connected workflows and smart connected imaging systems, to increase efficiency and diagnostic confidence in precision care and treatment. And follow @PhilipsLiveFrom for updates throughout the RSNA 2021 event.

[1] According to the definition of AI from the EU High-Level Expert Group.
[2] Pending 510(k), Not available for sale in the U.S.A.
[3] Pending 510(k), Not available for sale in the U.S.A.
[4] Adaptive-CS-Net: FastMRI with Adaptive Intelligence. 33rd Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS). Vancouver, Canada. Dec. 2019.
[5] Customer case study. Results may vary.

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O’Reilly
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +1 978-221-8919
E-mail : kathy.oreilly@philips.com
Twitter: @kathyoreilly

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 17.3 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Attachments

• Philips MR 5300 system in use
• Philips MR 5300 system
• Philips MR 7700 system

ApplyBoard’s data-driven trends report shows how international student preferences and trends in the international education space are shifting

KITCHENER, ONTARIO, CANADA, Nov. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ApplyBoard, the EdTech platform revolutionizing the international student journey, launched their first annual trends report on the future of international education.

To help shape recruitment plans and improve global access to education around the world, ApplyBoard gathered data to uncover the latest trends in sector recovery, key factors motivating student decision-making, emerging markets for student recruitment, and predictions for the next decade. The report is designed to inform and guide international students, recruitment partners and higher education institutions.

“As we head into 2022, we’re seeing lots of excitement and pent-up demand from international students eager to study abroad. The pandemic has led to shifting interests among international students who are paying closer attention to lower tuition prices, access to post-graduation work opportunities, and in-person learning opportunities,” says Meti Basiri, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder of ApplyBoard. “Despite the challenges the industry faced during the pandemic, the data shows that international students are more interested in studying abroad now than ever before, and our team is doing everything we can to help them achieve their dreams.”

ApplyBoard has assisted more than 250,000 students with their educational journeys and was co-founded by three brothers who were all international students themselves: Martin, Meti, and Massi Basiri. During the pandemic, ApplyBoard helped transform the international education recruitment and application processes through its intuitive digital platform. Today, the platform is home to over 1,500 schools and is used by over 10,000 recruitment partners, which makes it simple for international students to discover and apply to the country, school, and program best suited to their needs.

“ApplyBoard is building an education revolution, and this report puts everything that has happened during the pandemic into perspective so that we can build in 2022 and the years to come,” says Jo Johnson, Chair of the ApplyBoard Advisory Board. “Grounded in in-depth research, the report identifies key trends unfolding in the higher education industry whilst demonstrating ApplyBoard’s deep industry expertise and knowledge.”

Read the full report online. Notable findings from the report include:

Application Data Shows Pent-Up Demand From International Students

• According to data from the ApplyBoard Platform, student application volumes are booming across the world. From March to October 2021, UK student applications on the ApplyBoard Platform rose by more than 300%, Canadian applications grew by over 200%, and US applications spiked by 750% compared to the same period in 2020.

New Factors Influencing the Student Decision-Making Process 

• As we move past the pandemic, international students are increasingly looking for lower tuition prices and access to post-graduation work opportunities. They are also considering alternative destination markets. Prior to the pandemic, most students browsing programs on the ApplyBoard Platform searched for programs with tuition fees up to C$100,000 per year. During the first 10 months of 2021, more than half of all students chose to view only programs with annual tuition fees of C$30,000 or less.

Prioritizing Student Diversity 

• Major players India and China will remain large source markets for the future of recruitment. But economic and demographic shifts point to a number of smaller markets primed to capture growing shares of the international student market. ApplyBoard modelling and industry data has identified Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Indonesia as high-growth potential markets.

Attachment

• Trends Report

Alessandra Manieri
ApplyBoard
2262209826
alessandra.manieri@applyboard.com

PHOENIX, Nov. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (“WillScot Mobile Mini” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: WSC), a North American leader in modular space and portable storage solutions, today announced that it closed the acquisition of the assets of Portable Storage Corporation in Los Angeles. The transaction was funded with cash on hand and borrowings under the Company’s revolving credit agreement. This acquisition adds about 3,000 storage units in the Company’s existing U.S. markets in California.

Brad Soultz, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am excited to welcome the employees of Portable Storage Corporation to our team at WillScot Mobile Mini. Portable Storage Corporation’s operations expand our presence and capabilities in the greater Los Angeles area. Consistent with our M&A strategy, we look forward to providing our ‘Ready to Work’ value proposition to new customers, and applying our commercial and organizational best practices, while leveraging our scalable technology platform. Thank you to both our new and existing team members who are now working together to integrate our operations in southern California.”

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “shall,” “outlook” and variations of these words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. Certain of these forward-looking statements include statements relating value creation, the Company’s share price, and the Company’s future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties described in the periodic reports we file with the SEC from time to time (including our Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020), which are available through the SEC’s EDGAR system at www.sec.gov and on our website. Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date which it is made, and WillScot Mobile Mini disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp.

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “WSC.” Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the Company is a leading business services provider specializing in innovative flexible workspace and portable storage solutions. WillScot Mobile Mini services diverse end markets across all sectors of the economy from a network of over 275 branch locations and additional drop lots throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Contact Information

Investor Inquiries:

Nick Girardi

nick.girardi@willscotmobilemini.com

Media Inquiries:

Scott Junk

scott.junk@willscotmobilemini.com