Philips to Acquire Electrical Geodesics

Royal Philips (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Electrical Geodesics, Inc. {Eugene, Oregon, USA), a medical device company that designs, develops and commercializes non-invasive technologies used to monitor and interpret brain activity. EGI’s proprietary dense array EEG platform technology gathers brain activity data from many more electrodes than conventional EEG products to generate higher quality and precise levels of information.

EGI’s portfolio of EEG hardware, software and acquisition sensors will complement Philips’ existing portfolio of imaging technologies (e.g. MRI and PET-CT) and advanced informatics (e.g. IntelliSpace Portal) for neurological applications. The combined portfolios will enable Philips to address neurological disorders such as stroke, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury and Parkinson’s disease.

“In order to improve the treatment for some of the most complicated, life altering neurological disorders, we need more personalized and adaptive guidance tools to plan each individual patient’s therapeutic options,” said Joe Burnett, Business Leader Neuro Diagnostics at Philips. “This acquisition will enable Philips to provide an integrated neurology solution comprising diagnostic imaging and clinical informatics to assess brain anatomy and physiological processes, and EEG mapping tools from EGI to measure electrical brain activity. By fusing these different tools together, we will create a more comprehensive map of the brain, and unlock new computational algorithms which will help to shorten the path to a definitive diagnosis and guide some of the most complex therapeutic strategies.”

“Our team is very excited to join Philips and continue to drive advancements in neurological disorders including epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and many more,” said Don Tucker, Founder and CEO of EGI. “We will now complete the important work that we started 25 years ago, as part of a health technology leader that is known for its commitment to research and innovation. Our goal has always been to put the patient first and we feel this combination to be a perfect match.”