The 2025 MedTech Conference kicked off this week, and this year I had the privilege of hosting a dialogue that I know will stay with me for a long time. It’s a story that reminds us that what we do is not just about technology. It’s about the patients we serve and the impact we can make.

As part of this year’s Patient Pavilion, I sat down with Olha, whose son was born with a rare congenital heart defect: Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum. It’s a condition that demands immediate and complex care, and at just five days old, he underwent his first heart surgery at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. When Olha was choosing a name for her newborn, she looked around the hospital room and saw the Philips monitors, devices, and name on every piece of equipment that the practitioners were using to support her baby in his first weeks. She named her son, Philip.

For me, Olha’s story exemplifies the importance of maximizing the patient experience. That includes alarm management, responsible data integration, and about alleviating pressures across health systems with AI – from clinical decision-making to workflows. All of these, Olha and her family experienced firsthand. Olha and Philip’s story also highlights the growing importance of bringing the hospital into the home. As Philip continues his recovery, remote monitoring and tools have allowed Olha to stay connected to clinicians without frequent travel – a reminder that innovation must reach every corner, not just urban centers.

And for clinicians, stories like this reinforce why efficiency matters. Every second saved, every alert streamlined, every workflow optimized means more time for what matters most: the human connection. Technology should empower clinicians to focus on care, not complexity.

This is why we build, listen, and care. To Olha and her family: thank you for joining us at this year’s MedTech Conference. It was an honor to share the stage.

Julia Strandberg,

Chief Business Leader, Connected Care,

Philips

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