Royal Philips has unveiled its new ultra-mobile ultrasound system (VISIQ) to the Nigerian market during the Lagos leg of its annual pan-African Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow.

Currently in its fifth consecutive year, the roadshow enables Philips to engage in dialogue with customers, governments, NGOs and media to ascertain a better understanding of each country’s unique requirements and to develop relevant technology to support their needs on maternal and infant care.

The size of a tablet, the VISIQ is the first ultra-mobile system from Philips.

The device provides high quality images for expectant mothers wherever care is taking place.

VISIQ exemplifies Philips commitment to more cost effective, simplified, patient-focused health care innovations with high clinical performance.

Speaking during the product unveiling in Lagos, Van De Ven, vice president & general manager, Philips Healthcare Africa, said, by launching this new system in Nigeria, Philips continues to demonstrate its dedicated support to the Nigerian Ministry of Health in its mission to reduce child mortality rates, improve maternal health, meet the UN Millennium Development Goals 4 & 5 and revitalize Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure.

He said that researches are in support that maternal screening allows for early detection of complications.

According to the Philips Fabric of Africa trends report, women in Africa are at significant risk of premature death, with particular high mortality rates recorded in pregnancy.

Women in semi-urban and rural areas across Nigeria (in fact all of Africa) often die due to preventable complications during child birth as they have no access to ultrasound screenings to detect critical conditions.

Many of these deaths can be diagnosed with basic imaging technology.

One of the benefits of VISIQ is that it is portable and easy to use so it’s available for expectant mothers in remote areas who wouldn’t otherwise have access to this type of innovative technology.

Peter Van de Ven, said: “It makes me proud to see how Philips’ cost-effective, easy to operate ultrasound systems can make a real difference in Africa. It shows that meaningful innovations can contribute to saving people’s lives.

“Improving access to healthcare is high on the Philips agenda in Africa and we are very eager to contribute to the goals of the Nigerian government to improve access to quality care for all Nigerians. VISIQ allows clinicians to provide ultrasound in a variety of clinical environments, offering soon-to-be parents the comfort of having regular pre-natal check-ups.”

He added that the device was designed for the needs of the Nigerian market.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diagnostic imaging is crucial in healthcare. Many countries in the developing world cannot afford to purchase expensive high technology imaging equipment despite the urgent need to use imaging resources in these countries.

“There is a growing global focus on cost effective systems, smaller footprints and imaging equipment which is both easier to operate but has improved clinical functionality. The Philips VISIQ has been specifically designed with this in mind and embodies Philips’ image quality legacy, driving innovation and efficiency in ultrasound imaging. VISIQ provides high quality images for quick and reliable diagnostic decision making,” Peter van de Ven said.

Earlier, Juan Van Dongen, chief executive officer, Philips Africa, said that, VISIQ’s unique combination of mobility, ease of use and image quality, will enable clinicians to perform ultrasound examinations across a variety of clinical settings.

According to him, small outpatient clinics or community centers can carry out comprehensive obstetric and abdominal scans themselves rather than referring patients to regional ultrasound centers.

This enables fast diagnosis and treatment.

“Approximately ten times smaller than a traditional ultrasound machine and with reduced energy consumption, VISIQ can also be used in community care programs in remote rural areas for screening, triage and fetal well-being scans, all of which helps to address the critical issue of maternal and infant care in Nigeria,” he said.

Lagos is the fifth stop on Philips’ annual flagship Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow (from 14th April to 3rd September 2014) which focuses on two key challenges facing Africa today, the need for energy-efficient lighting and the revitalization of African healthcare infrastructure.

Dongen said that Philips, in contribution to the Post-2015 Development Agenda, calls for improving universal access to healthcare and reducing the double-disease burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as additions to the current MDGs.

The Roadshow will make its way across seven countries and ten cities in Africa.