Digital Health (DigiHealth) is part of the 5th profiling theme of the University of Oulu. It aims at international breakthroughs in development and application of novel digitalized solutions to predict progression of diseases and in offering personalized therapies in a cost-effective and patient-centric way. There are four different research topics in DigiHealth: DigiHealth1 creates novel, integrated next-generation bioinformatics and biosensor data solutions, DigiHealth2 creates system level architecture for health data management and sustainable communication networks, DigiHealth3 develops medical AI for early detection and diagnosis to support clinical decision making and personalized medicine, and DigiHealth4 offers a novel value chain capability in establishing digital healthcare solutions.

Participants in DigiHealth: Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Information and Electrical Engineering and the School of Economics, University of Oulu. Research activities are located at the university campuses of Kontinkangas and Linnanmaa. In addition to the university and Oulu University Hospital, OAMK (Oulu University of Applied Sciences) also participates in DigiHealth activities.

For more information and news, see https://www.oulu.fi/en/creating-better-health-our-digital-health-knowhow

NACCOP – An Arctic platform for innovation work in healthcare

NACCOP (Nordic Arctic Co-creation Platform) project’s target is to strengthen the innovation work of SMEs in healthcare and wellbeing by developing an Arctic platform for the Nordic countries to co-operate through quadruple helix model. The platform will support ecosystem work and provides a network of innovation environments and services. It brings together stakeholders from all sectors of society and enables SMEs to develop innovative new solutions.

Small and medium-sized companies are thus able to develop innovative products and services in multi-professional cooperation, based on the needs of the end users who are the public sector employees in healthcare and obviously, its users. The expertise of the universities brings in the research-based product and service development.

To Connect and Collaborate

The co-creation platform will be the channel for SMEs to connect, collaborate across borders and innovate together. The platform will enable the development of new digital tools, digital social innovation, new services as well as new business models for health and wellbeing services. The platform will also enable knowledge sharing and strengthen the possibilities to live and work in the north.

POPsote – a reform of health and social services at the Northern Ostrobothnia

The Health and social services reform is a national reform lead by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

The objective of the reform is to secure the health and social services equally for all Finnish people.

The focus will be on the basic services and the early problem prevention. The possibility to get help in an early phase is important in order to stop the small issue from escalating into a big one.

One of the main issues is to improve the availability of the services and accelerate the access to treatment. In the health and social centres of the future the customer will receive all the needed services in one place.

The people are aging fast in the Northern Ostrobothnia as well and are in more need of services than before. The decreasing of birthrate, on the other hand, will lower the number people in the working age and the tax revenue. The health and social services will be reformed, so that the rise of costs can be stopped and the equal health and social services for future generations can be secured as well.

The reform in Northern Ostrobothnia will be made with focus on the people using them

Northern Ostrobothnia is involved in the national development work. We have established the POPsote-project in the Northern Ostrobothnia in order to move the reform forwards in our region. All of the municipalities and the health and social service organizations are part of the project.

The objective of the reform is to improve availability of health and social services and the service experience. The development work will be done together with the people of the municipalities and multiple stakeholders.

You can follow the national health and social services reform at soteuudistus.fi

Read more: https://popsote.fi/

The main idea of this project is to modernise Oulu University Hospital (OYS) in such a way that it becomes the smartest hospital in the world, utilising the most advanced technologies and provding personalised and effective healthcare services.

The Future Hospital project also brings business opportunities for health technology companies that provide innovative health solutions.

www.oys2030.fi/english.php

This project refers to a national network of researchers who work in the e-health domain and focus on the new digital health services provided by Virtual Hospital 2.0. The e-health researcher network shares results and best practices. It also facilitates collaboration in research.

Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment (FinCCHTA) is located at the Oulu University Hospital (OYS). The objective of the unit is to coordinate Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Finland as well as to cooperate with international HTA bodies. Other key objectives are to develop HTA methodological training and strengthen its related research.

https://www.ppshp.fi/Tutkimus-ja-opetus/FinCCHTA/Sivut/In_other_languages.aspx

FinCCHTA wants to develop its operations also in the field of digital healthcare. For this reason, the new Digi-HTA assessment method has been introduced as part of FinCCHTA’s activities. Digi-HTA was developed under the DigiHealth HUB project and in cooperation with the University of Oulu and FinCCHTA. Digi-HTA provides evidence-based information about new digital healthcare solutions, such as mobile applications and artificial intelligence and robotics solutions. The Digi-HTA recommendations are published on the FinCCHTA website and are freely available to all healthcare stakeholders.

www.digi-HTA.fi

DigiHealth Hub is a focal point of support in the fields of data-driven health and well-being innovations, and deploying and assessing digital health service. DigiHealth Hub initiative reinforces digital transformation of health and well-being. It speeds up the uptake and exploitation of emerging digital health technologies while rethinking development and innovations in health and well-being. It creates competence networks to identify and spread the knowledge and best practices of exploiting health data and to study the impact of implementation of digital health solutions.

www.oulu.fi/cht/digihealthhub

inDemand provides a new model of co-creation of digital health solutions by healthcare organisations together with health companies, with the economic support of public regional funds.

www.indemandhealth.eu

The University of Oulu coordinates the medical and dentistry digital learning (MEDigi) development project. The main aim is to support the creation of digital learning environments in the fields of medicine and dentistry.