Oulu-region in Finland introduces a broad range of wireless healthcare services

(PRESSI.COM) ( Oulu , Finland ) Healthcare services that utilize top technology have become an increasingly important business area to many companies located within the Oulu-region of Finland . Companies of the area are creating sales worth nearly one-fourth of a billion of euros, by producing products such as heart rate monitors, wireless monitoring and location devices, as well as providing digital information services and other solutions aimed at promoting healthcare services and well-being.

In addition, several of the Oulu-region firms have also expanded their production outside the Finnish borders - production sites, which produce additional sales revenue worth several millions of euros.  

We are in many ways unique and world leaders. We will promote the use of wireless devices and services in the healthcare sector within the Oulu area, because business cooperation and research activity is also solid in the sector," said Director Jorma Kaitera, who leads a regional program called Wellness Forum. The program runs mainly with the assistance of state funding, and its aim is to boost businesses operating in the industry. 

Polar Electro is a key player within the industry, which has grown to become the worlds largest maker of heart rate monitoring devices. Several other smaller firms have also entered the market, such as Tracker Oy and Innokas Medical Oy, which is in cooperation with General Electric (GE). Innokas Medical is currently in the process of introducing the worlds first wireless hospital", an area which will face great demand in the coming years. In addition, there is FRWD Technologies Ltd - a firm which specializes in producing wireless devices for the measurement and analysis of athletic performances.

Developing self-care services is also opening up opportunities for firms, as the ageing population is boosting demand for new technical services in the healthcare and well-being industries. One company specializing in this area is Mawell Oy, which is successfully transferring healthcare information services to the Internet. 

The Oulu region is located some 600 kilometers North of Finlands capital Helsinki . A university is located in the City of Oulu , with its approximately 15,000 students. Focus is on technical and medical science. The area also is home to VTT Electronics - the country's leading electronic research facility. Some 200,000 people live within the Oulu area.  

http://www.wellnessforum.org/

FRWD Sport Performance Recorder records route, speed, distance, heart rate, altitude and climate

Finnish high-tech companies are developing new wireless devices for athletes. Oulu-based FRWD Technologies is an innovative forerunner in sports electronics equipment design with its revolutionary FRWD Sport Performance Recorder device - a product which the company describes as the most powerful sports analysis and measurement tool ever introduced.

The FRWD Recorder Unit, which is attached to your left arm, combines three crucial elements required for sports activity analysis:  route detail, speed, and distance measurement with the help of GPS technology; altitude profile measurement combined with temperature and air pressure details; and heart rate monitoring, with the help of a heart rate monitor belt attached to your chest.

Feed-back on the device has been positive. We have received very good feed-back from both professional athletes as well as from hobbyists. The FRWD Sport Performance Recorder device combines three key technologies in a revolutionary and unique way. With the device, one could for instance improve future athletic performances, as the devices computer-based analysis mechanism reveals earlier weaknesses in sporting performances," said FRWD Technologies Chief Executive Officer Ilkka Limma. 

A core technical innovation of the device is the fact that its GPS-based system produces a more accurate location of the athlete than with traditional means of satellite positioning. This because of the help of a barometer, which helps in producing a 3-D location of the athlete at every moment during performance," said FRWD Technologies Head of Technology unit and product inventor Ville Kampman.

FRWD Technologies new product has gained a lot of media attention giving the firm, which employs 10 people, a full load of work.

Patient home visits in a new wireless environment

Oulu-based company develops new information channelTero Silvola.

After patient home visits, healthcare staff stores the patient data and treatment measures into the system, wirelessly, after which he or she can make their next patient home visit," Tero Silvola added.

The so-called Mawell Contact Center information service is responsible for providing inhabitants of the entire capital-region in Finland , with healthcare telephone services.   The excellent information service guides customers to right treatment, support for self care, and frees resources for actual care work.

Mawell runs the largest medical information system, which operates between the members of municipalities and healthcare sector. With the telephone information system, members of municipalities could search for information on healthcare issues throughout the day, in a fast and efficient way," Silvola promises.

In addition to speed, one of the services advantageous is the fact that healthcare information is provided by professionals, those who know best how to proceed in any given situation.

The telephone service frees healthcare personnel from telephone answering routines, those tasks which do not belong to their core working responsibilities, therefore giving them more time to use on more important issues i.e. taking care of patients," Tero Silvola said.

Worlds premier wireless hospital in Oulu , Finland in 2006

Mobile phones and wireless networks are an international trend these days, because of their ability to ease the everyday lives of people. According to research studies, even the health-care industry could benefit significantly from the use of wireless technology, as it could for instance improve the sectors internal processes and in that way also boost cost efficiency.

Wireless technology will become a key element in several aspects of the health-care business. With the help of new technologies, several processes within the industry could be made more flexible," said Innokas Medical Oy Chief Executive Officer Jouni Ihme. 

We have been in cooperation with large international companies within the medical technology industry, within a local research environment. The Wireless Hospital project is expected to reach its piloting stage during 2006," Jouni Ihme estimates. 

When implementing wireless technologies into the hospital environment, there are several special requirements that need to be met, which create additional challenges for the development of new successful technologies. For instance, patient devices are in particularly sensitive toward disturbances and the accuracy of data transfer must, also be taken into consideration. The industry is also heavily regulated by law, directives, and different standards, which do not, at the least, speed up the process of introducing new innovations, Jouni Ihme said.

Even today people around the globe are introduced with products developed by Innokas Medical Oy, in hospitals, at doctor waiting rooms, and at physical therapists. 

The firms product portfolio includes products such as electronically operated surgical knives and various types of devices used in electronic diagnostics. The company is expanding its business also toward own product design and marketing, with Innokas Marketing Oy handling the marketing of such products including those used by physical therapists for treatment and diagnosis.

A new product for the measurement of the impact of rehabilitation was introduced to the market in November 2003, and its reception has been very good. Currently the product is undergoing its commercialization phase, and its market has been expanded into Sweden , Germany , Italy , Portugal , and Holland - in addition to Finland .  

  In practice we have noticed that Oulu is a very successful region for the development of technology for the health-care industry. The regions existing network of leading industrial players, both in terms of development and clinical knowledge, is very flexible and offers various opportunities. There are no obstacles for expanding internationally from there or vice-a-versa why global firms would not want to expand their operations into the Oulu-region," Jouni Ihme said.  

For additional information: Innokas Medical Oy Tarjusojantie 12, FIN-90440 Kempele , Finland Phone +358 8 562 3100 Fax +358 8 562 3111

Innokasnnokasmedical.fi www.innokasmedical.fi