Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & Amsterdam, Netherlands, Aug 26, 2026
Royal Philips has received an award of up to US$33.7 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to advance AI-enabled robotic procedure automation for stroke care. The project, part of ARPA-H’s Autonomous Interventions and Robotics (AIR) program, will bring together Philips, Johns Hopkins University, Boston University and clinical collaborator Dr. J. Mocco of Weill Cornell Medicine to develop technologies for remote-assisted and increasingly automated endovascular procedures. The initiative is focused on expanding access to highly specialized stroke interventions by combining medical imaging, robotics, artificial intelligence and intelligent interventional devices. Philips will build on its image-guided therapy expertise and Azurion platform to develop a future interventional environment in which robotic technologies and AI-enabled automation can support clinicians during time-critical procedures. The technologies remain under development, and any future clinical use or commercial availability will depend on applicable regulatory requirements.
Philips Advances AI and Robotic Stroke Intervention
The ARPA-H-funded program will focus on several components of robotic endovascular stroke care, including endovascular navigation, robotic device control, image-based procedural guidance, workflow automation and remote intervention. Philips intends to integrate these capabilities with its Azurion image-guided therapy platform, creating a connected clinical workflow that can combine imaging, robotics, AI-enabled automation and smart interventional devices. The objective is to progressively increase the level of procedural automation while maintaining expert clinical oversight and supervision. Such technologies could potentially allow specialized expertise to be extended beyond major stroke centers, addressing geographic and workforce limitations that can prevent patients from receiving advanced interventions within critical treatment windows. Philips emphasized that the goal is not to replace clinicians but to make specialist expertise more scalable and accessible. The company said the project builds on more than four decades of experience in image-guided therapy and public-private partnerships aimed at accelerating healthcare innovation.
Academic Partnerships Target Autonomous Procedures
Philips will work with Johns Hopkins University and Boston University to develop complementary technologies required for increasingly automated endovascular interventions. Johns Hopkins University will lead development of autonomous device navigation, under the direction of Axel Krieger, PhD, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Boston University researchers Tommaso Ranzani, PhD, and Sheila Russo will co-lead development of steerable catheters, combining expertise in mechanical engineering, materials science and robotic systems. Dr. J. Mocco of Weill Cornell Medicine will contribute as an additional clinical collaborator, bringing expertise in neurological surgery and stroke intervention. The collaboration is intended to connect Philips’ capabilities in medical imaging and procedural workflow automation with academic research in robotics, catheter technology, autonomous navigation and clinical translation. By combining these disciplines, the program seeks to establish technological foundations for remote and increasingly automated procedures while keeping clinicians central to procedural decision-making and patient care.
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Robotics Could Expand Access to Stroke Treatment
The initiative addresses a significant access challenge in acute ischemic stroke treatment, particularly for patients who may benefit from mechanical thrombectomy. According to the information provided by Philips, approximately 335,000 patients in the United States are eligible for thrombectomy each year, but only around 12% receive the procedure. More than half of Americans also live more than an hour from a hospital capable of performing thrombectomy. Globally, fewer than 3% of eligible patients with large-vessel occlusion receive mechanical thrombectomy, highlighting the need for approaches that can extend specialist capabilities. Philips reports that more than 20,000 of its image-guided therapy systems are installed across more than 80 countries, providing an existing technological foundation for further development of connected and automated intervention. The ARPA-H AIR program represents a significant step toward integrating AI, robotics and image-guided therapy into stroke procedures, with the longer-term objective of making specialized endovascular care more accessible. While the technologies described are still in development and clinical availability is not guaranteed, the project demonstrates growing investment in AI-enabled medical robotics as a potential strategy for addressing disparities in access to complex, time-sensitive stroke treatment.
Source: Philips press relese
