The international media group visiting Radical Health Festival Helsinki 2023.
In June 2023, Health Capital Helsinki, Helsinki Partners and Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland invited a group of top-tier Asian and European business and medical media to Helsinki. The group had a unique opportunity to explore Finland’s and Helsinki’s world-class environment for health RDI and digital health advancements, as well as innovative health tech solutions developed by Finnish companies. In addition, the group visited the first-ever Radical Health Festival Helsinki, and toured the state-of-the-art simulation hospital at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and the new Bridge Hospital at HUS Helsinki University Hospital.
You’ll find here a collection of articles published as a result of the visit.
Future Care Capital: What can we learn from Finland’s health care system?
“Finland faces many of the same challenges in health and social care as the UK – but they have found innovative ways of tackling them. Could the NHS learn anything from the Finnish approach?””Finland’s approach to digitisation, its integration of health and social care and its heavy investment in innovation may, however, point the way forward – not just for the UK, but for any country that wants an agile health system that can respond to the changing demands of the 21st century.”The article shares Finland’s long history with electronic medical records and approach to healthcare digitation and data transparency. The article also takes an in-depth look into FinnGen, one of the world’s largest biobank-based genomic studies.Link to full article by Kim Thomas, published 24 October 2023
The Straits Times (Singapore): Finland banks on health tech to keep seniors cared for at home longer
“Helsinki is an innovation hub for health technology or health tech, which it is harnessing to enable many of its elderly population to live longer at home. Finland has built a strong public-private ecosystem that connects researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and corporates, benefiting not only its own people but also those elsewhere. Finnish health tech companies operate globally, and they export most of their products.Like Singapore, Finland has a small (5.5 million versus Singapore’s 5.64 million) and rapidly ageing population. Both are studying the use of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve the healthcare challenges ahead.”The article describes Finland’s digital health advancements and strategy to address the challenge of ageing population.Link to full article by Joyce Teo, published 1 August 2023
The article was also published by Singapore News, Head Topic and Watan News
The Straits Times (Singapore): Robots that tell you when to take your medicine: Home care made easier with Finnish innovations
“Health tech is one of the fastest-growing high-tech export sectors in Finland. In 2022, the value of its health technology exports rose to $2.74 billion, up about 6 per cent from the previous year.The country is home to hundreds of social and healthcare technology companies, including those specialising in agetech solutions to help with active ageing, homecare and assisted living environments.”Article on innovative agetech solutions created and developed Finland, highlighting Finnish companies Evondos, Heart2Save, Medixine and Verso Vision.Link to full article by Joyce Teo, published 1 August 2023
The article was also published by Singapore News, Head Topic and Watan News
Korea Biomedical Review (South Korea): Can winter swimming boost mental health?
“Although this is well-known among the Finns, the combined effect of psychotherapy and winter swimming in alleviating patients’ mental health disorders has not been previously studied.”Combining these two was studied for the first time globally in Helsinki this year, with positive overall results in participants’ well-being, anxiety, and depression.Link to full article covering the study by Marianne Chang, published 26 June 2023
Korea Biomedical Review (South Korea): Korean digital health start-ups gain traction at Helsinki meet
The first-ever Radical Health Festival Helsinki conference attracted several Korean digital health companies to attend and showcase their latest innovations. Why Finland and what was the traction like? In the article, the companies disclose their feedback:”‘While Korea still stands in the early stages for DTx, some countries in the European Union already have lots of experience and real-world data for DTx use,’ said Yang Sung-eun, Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s head of C&D Innovation, explaining the reason for coming to Finland.’As Finland has advanced digital healthcare technologies, especially in the field of sleep, we are seeking a clinical test partner in Finland for attaining European certification and a distribution partner,’ said BRLAB CEO Lee Jong-min. ‘We found that there was a lot of interest in our technology, and we met a lot of great partners that we hope to collaborate with in the future.'”Link to full article by Marianne Chang, published 16 June 2023
Korea Biomedical Review (South Korea): How Nokia spurred Finland’s burgeoning digital health ecosystem
”Finland might be the happiest nation in the world for the sixth consecutive year but the Finns are not satisfied with just this accolade and are making all-out efforts to ensure their health sector can be equally recognized.”An interview of Päivi Sillanaukee, Special Envoy for Health and Wellbeing at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland, and Juha Paakkola, Director at Health Capital Helsinki talking about Finnish health sector as an enabling health RDI environment.Link to full article by Marianne Chang, published 15 June 2023
Korea Biomedical Review (South Korea): ‘Slow adoption of AI, DTx solutions prohibitive in medical field’
”Despite decades of innovation in healthcare with AI solutions and digital therapeutics (DTx), the adoption of these technologies in clinical spaces is still lagging, experts said.”An expert panel discussed the issue of adoption of digital technologies at the first-ever Radical Health Festival Helsinki in June. Professor, CIO Miikka Korja from HUS Helsinki University Hospital shared the development of an AI-based solution to quickly and accurately detect different brain hemorrhaging from CT scans.“The algorithm itself took about 20 hours to train and develop but clinical validations and subsequent regulations take several more years and that’s why you can’t see many AI algorithms in the clinical setting yet,” said Prof. Korja. “We are aiming to prove this clinical validation soon and then move beyond the scope of brain bleeds.”Link to full article by Marianne Change, published on 14 June 2023
Glimpses of the media tour
Real-life ambulance setting at the simulation hospital at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki.Meeting with innovative Finnish health tech startups at Radical Health Festival Helsinki. Nightingale Health CEO Teemu Suna discussing with journalists (above), and MedicubeX CEO Vili Kostamo showcasing the company’s eHealth station (below).Keynote session on AI adoption in healthcare at Radical Health Festival Helsinki. On stage, Prof. Miikka Korja, Chief Innovation Officer at HUS Helsinki University Hospital.Radical Health Festival Helsinki was organised for the first time in June 2023.First RAPTOR operating theatre in Europe, located at the new Bridge Hospital at HUS Helsinki University Hospital. The room has full capabilites for CT scan with a moving gantry, endovascular, and open surgery.At Terkko Health Hub, Helsinki’s health startup hub, hearing about a video game being developed to ease depression symptoms. Prof. Matias Palva presenting the joint project of Aalto University and University of Helsinki.Health Capital Helsinki
