Taking healthcare on the road

Every year in Argentina, doctors detect 4,000 cases of cervical cancer and 20,000 cases of breast cancer. Almost 50% of them prove to be fatal. This is because many of the victims live in low-income areas with poor access to the technology that would offer an early diagnosis and increased chances of survival. Our Woman Truck is helping to change that.

Women Truck 1

The Woman Truck
In 1998, Philips Argentina developed a diagnostic imaging mobile unit, which travelled around the country providing free CT scans in poor areas. In 2006, it launched a new unit designed to focus on female healthcare prevention and bring the latest medical technology to low-income communities. It was dubbed the Woman Truck.  Designed in conjunction with the prestigious NGO LALCEC (Liga Argentina de Lucha Contra el Cancer), the unit contains 4D ultrasound scanners, digital mammography, X-ray equipment, portable defibrillators, digital workstations and satellite connections.

Women Truck 2

Healthcare on the road
In 2007, the truck set off on a tour from Buenos Aires to Santa Fe, then onto the city of Salta and up north into the Jujuy region. It carried out more than 3,000 medical tests before heading south into Chile where it ran a further 1,500 tests in four other cities. The tour is still going strong in 2008. Heading up into the northeast of Argentina, it’s touring the provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes, Chaco and Formosa. After that, it intends to carry on to Paraguay to offer its services there.

Women Truck 3

High profile help
The tour has generated considerable publicity with interviews on TV and radio and more than 40 articles in magazines and newspapers throughout the country. Two Argentinean celebrities helped to promote the project; Monica Cahen d’Anvers, hostess of one of the country’s most important news programs and her niece Paula Cahen d’Anvers, a noted fashion designer. Both women had breast cancer and survived and they enhanced the tour with their personal experiences.

Women Truck 4

Improving lives everywhere
The long-running project has several aims. We want to demonstrate that we’re a healthcare company that can meet the needs of all people, rich and poor alike, in any location. Besides that, we want to show that we’re a leader in healthcare technologies and that those technologies aren’t only restricted to luxury hospitals. We also want to show that we’re dedicated to improving all people’s lives everywhere, as well as stimulating and supporting local research and development. It’s an idea that has succeeded spectacularly and one which we hope will continue to succeed.

 

For further information, please contact:

María Alejandra Grignani

Philips Argentina S.A.
Tel:  +54 11 4546 7552   
Email:  maria.alejandra.grignani@philips.com

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 133,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2007, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.