Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, has announced the launch of the five-year EXIT-CVD research project, co-funded by the European Union Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) and the industry partners.
The research consortium is led by University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and Philips, and aims to transform how cardiovascular disease is detected, monitored and treated. It will do so by identifying and acting on three key exit points along the cardiac care journey: preventing disease before it develops (early exit), reversing disease progression (mid exit), or halting progression in advanced stages (late exit).
Patient enrollment for the first of the 22 clinical studies will begin this month.
Cardiovascular health is fundamental to overall health and well-being, yet more than 60 million people in the European Union are living with cardiovascular disease. For many, the condition significantly reduces quality of life and well-being. Without early detection, timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment, cardiovascular disease can progress silently from early risk factors to established disease and ultimately, cardiac events that may lead to premature death.
“Our vision is a future where heart disease is no longer an irreversible pathway,” said Professor Pim van der Harst, Project Coordinator of EXIT-CVD and Head of Cardiology at the University Medical Center Groningen. “By understanding both the biological and social drivers of cardiovascular disease, and deploying integrated innovations across diagnostics, monitoring, and care, we can empower patients and clinicians to exit the disease continuum before it’s too late.”
Yet most of us improve care within our own specialty and rarely have a complete view of the patient’s experience. EXIT-CVD is an ambitious effort to build that holistic view together, helping transform cardiac care for millions of patients across Europe.
Professor Pim van der Harst, Project Coordinator of EXIT-CVD and Head of Cardiology at the University Medical Center Groningen
“For more than 30 years, we have viewed cardiovascular disease as a continuous journey, from risk factors such as hypertension, to atherosclerosis, a first cardiac event and ultimately, for many patients, heart failure,” said Robin Nijveldt, Chief of Cardiology at UMC Utrecht. “Yet most of us improve care within our own specialty and rarely have a complete view of the patient’s experience. EXIT-CVD is an ambitious effort to build that holistic view together, helping transform cardiac care for millions of patients across Europe.”
The EXIT-CVD clinical studies will focus on the three key exit points along the cardiac care journey: early detection through digital monitoring (early exit), personalized risk assessment and targeted interventions (mid exit), and advanced therapies to support recovery in later-stage disease (late exit). By combining diagnostics, digital tools and advanced therapeutic approaches, EXIT-CVD aims to deliver actionable, evidence-based strategies that can be implemented across diverse healthcare systems in Europe.
Innovation that reaches everyone
New diagnostics and digital tools often reach well-resourced populations first, widening gaps in access and outcomes. The project will therefore embed implementation science and equity-by-design principles to ensure that the solutions are scalable, sustainable, and accessible to all relevant populations, including those historically underserved. A digitally enabled, FAIR-compliant data platform aligned with the European Health Data Space (EHDS) will support the integration, evaluation, and real-world scalability of the project’s innovations.
“The EXIT-CVD project focuses on three critical stages of cardiovascular disease progression where technology can make the greatest impact: preventing disease before it develops, reversing its progression and improving care for people with advanced disease,” said Bert van Meurs, Chief Business Leader Diagnosis and Treatment, Image Guided Therapy at Royal Philips. “Together with our consortium partners, we are exploring innovations ranging from contactless vital signs monitoring for early detection of patient deterioration to advanced spectral CT imaging that reveals tissue characteristics beyond anatomy. These technologies have the potential to give clinicians deeper insights and support earlier, more informed cardiac care.”
Clinical studies
FThe EXIT-CVD research consortium will conduct a total of 22 clinical studies involving more than 14,000 patients across Europe, including:
- Camera-Based In-Hospital Monitoring (CARDIO-CAM study): Deployment and evaluation of an unobtrusive, video-based patient monitoring system that continuously captures cardiorespiratory signals and relevant clinical context.
- Spectral CT for Early Detection, Risk Stratification and Personalized Patient Care Pathways (LEADER-PAD study): Development and validation of new approaches for the early detection of cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic and low risk symptomatic patients using spectral CT.
- Nurse/HCP-Led Remote Heart Failure Monitoring (REMODEL-HF study): Multinational randomized study evaluating the Heart Failure Management System, a non-invasive remote monitoring technology, in patients recently hospitalized for heart failure, with the objective of improving outcomes and optimizing guideline-directed medical therapy.
- Imaging-Guided PCI Randomized Trial (GUIDANCE-PCCT study): Evaluation of clinical and procedural outcomes of PCI guided by photon counting CT versus standard angiography-guided PCI.
- Advanced Imaging in Infiltrative Cardiomyopathies (NOTIFY-2 study): Validation of AI-driven image and ECG analysis algorithms to improve early diagnosis of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) and underlying disease risk stratification.
Consortium partners
The IHI EXIT-CVD public-private partnership comprises 42 partner organizations from 17 countries:
- Clinical and academic partners: Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Spain), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), University of Pavia (Italy), Centro Cardiologico Monzino (Italy), EOC (Switzerland), KU Leuven (Belgium), NIKARD (Poland), UMC Utrecht (Netherlands), UMC Groningen (Netherlands), Technical University Eindhoven (Netherlands), Universitätsklinikum Köln (Germany), King’s College London (UK), London School of Economics and Political Science (UK), and Varsinais-Suomen Hyvinvointialue (Finland).
- Industry partners: Philips, Circle CVI, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, HeartBeam, Medtronic, Huawei, XVIVO Perfusion, AstraZeneca, Cardiomed, Megi Health, Viatris, Cordys, Novartis, Corbotics, ZOLL, Sanofi, Repairon, Johnson & Johnson MedTech Heart Recovery, Onsentia, and CogStack
- Healthcare consultancy: Bridg Ou and IQVIA Solutions
- Patient organization: Stichting VrouwenHart
- Medical association: European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
