Some breakthroughs don’t require new organs — they just need smarter guidance. In November 2025, Philips unveiled DeviceGuide, an artificial-intelligence tool that helps cardiologists perform mitral valve repairs with unprecedented precision and clarity. What once depended on surgeons interpreting multiple 2D images is now supported by a real-time 3D “map” of the heart and repair device — a shift that could transform how we treat heart valve disease worldwide.

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Why Mitral Valve Repair Is Challenging — and How DeviceGuide Helps

The heart’s mitral valve acts like a one-way door, ensuring blood flows in the right direction. When this valve fails — a condition called mitral regurgitation — blood leaks backward, causing fatigue, shortness of breath, and potentially heart failure over time. More than 35 million adults worldwide suffer from this condition.

Traditionally, repairing this damage meant open-heart surgery — a major operation with significant risks. In recent years, doctors have started performing repairs via a minimally invasive method called TEER (Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair). This technique inserts a small repair device through the leg, guiding it to the heart to clip or seal the valve. But even with TEER, surgeons must constantly interpret ultrasound and X-ray images on multiple screens — a demanding task, especially while the heart is beating.

That’s where DeviceGuide steps in. By combining live echocardiography and X-ray, the software uses AI to build a real-time 3D model of the repair device inside the beating heart. Suddenly, what was once a mental reconstruction becomes a visible reality. Surgeons — and their entire team — can see, in full depth, exactly where the device is, how it’s oriented, and in what direction it’s moving.

Think of it as turning a 2-D blueprint into a full-colored, interactive map — reducing guesswork and enhancing confidence in every move.

Benefits: Precision, Safety, and Reduced Risk

• Better visualization = safer procedures. DeviceGuide offers what one expert called “bionic vision”: an extra pair of eyes inside the heart that can help avoid errors when navigating delicate structures.
• Shorter learning curve for surgeons. The 3D overlay simplifies orientation in a process that historically required years of experience. That could make complex valve repairs more widely available, not only in elite clinics but in hospitals around the world.
• Less invasive, faster recovery. Since TEER is already less invasive than open surgery, adding AI-guided navigation can lower the risk and make procedures smoother and quicker, benefiting patients who might not tolerate open surgery.

In short, DeviceGuide doesn’t replace the human surgeon — it augments their skill, making heart repair safer, more precise and more predictable.

By embedding AI into the procedure, DeviceGuide gives physicians an extra pair of eyes, effectively bionic vision, helping them treat more patients safely and confidently – Dr. Atul Gupta, Chief Medical Officer, Diagnosis & Treatment at Philips

Early Availability and What Comes Next

As of November 2025, DeviceGuide has been previewed at professional conferences and is already in limited release in some European markets. The technology — still pending full regulatory approvals in many regions including the US — is initially compatible with specific mitral repair devices (for example, the approved TEER device from Edwards Lifesciences).

Experts from Philips and Edwards describe DeviceGuide as not just a new tool — but a model for how AI can be embedded into surgical workflows, shaping the next generation of image-guided interventions.

In the near future, this kind of AI support could expand beyond mitral valves to other structural heart repairs — and even other surgical specialties — offering a template for safer, smarter, AI-assisted care.

What This Means for Patients — and Why It Matters

For people suffering from mitral valve disease, especially those unable to endure open-heart surgery, DeviceGuide brings hope. The union of AI, real-time imaging, and minimally invasive procedures might mean:

• Access to life-saving treatments for patients once considered too fragile
• Lower risk and shorter hospital stays
• More consistent outcomes regardless of surgeon experience
• A chance at a full, active life without major surgery

In a world where advanced heart conditions are a leading cause of morbidity, these innovations could shift the balance — from fear to hope.

Beyond the Heart: A Glimpse at the Future of Medicine

DeviceGuide reflects a broader transformation in healthcare: the fusion of human expertise and intelligent machines. Like a well-trained pilot receiving real-time weather, traffic and navigation data before take-off, surgeons may soon rely on AI as a “co-pilot” — improving precision, reducing stress, and expanding access.

As technology advances and regulatory approvals expand, we may see a future in which complex surgical procedures become safer, faster and more accessible worldwide. And for patients, that means fewer obstacles between diagnosis and recovery — and more chances to return to normal life.

Because in the end, what matters is not how advanced the tools are — but how many lives they can improve.