GE HealthCare, a long-term partner with HUS Helsinki University Hospital and a member in CleverHealth Network, highlights its long-standing commitment to developing smarter technologies and improving patient outcomes in Finland and beyond. Erno Muuranto and René Coffeng from GE HealthCare share their expert views on data-driven healthcare.
As a global leader in precision care, GE HealthCare brings together cutting-edge medical imaging, patient monitoring and digital solutions to support more efficient and effective healthcare. With a focus on integrating innovation and patient-centred technologies, the company’s solutions help clinicians to deliver more precise therapies and achieve better patient outcomes.
Strong R&D in Finland
Erno Muuranto is the Managing Director of GE HealthCare in Finland and Senior Director of Engineering for physiological measurements and wearables. He starts by reminding how the operations of GE HealthCare in Finland are both significant and unique. The company employs around 750 professionals locally, with more than half dedicated to research and development. The Helsinki site is home to the wireless and wearable patient monitoring unit, led by Erno Muuranto. This site also houses a factory manufacturing medical devices, including patient monitors. They are delivered to over 120 countries all over the world.
Historically, the foundations for GE HealthCare’s excellence were laid in the 1970s when the Finnish company Instrumentarium’s “data experts” unit Datex developed pioneering carbon dioxide measurement devices for operating theatres. GE acquired Datex in 2003, and Finland has remained a hub for world-class product development for health technology.
Collaborative development and clinical partnerships
Central to GE HealthCare’s innovation strategy is close collaboration with hospitals, clinicians and other industry partners. The company works with leading university hospitals, including HUS and, KUS in Kuopio, to gather clinically relevant patient data to support product development and test new monitoring solutions in real environments. For example, the development of the first wireless patient monitoring system involved 300 patients and a dedicated team from GE HealthCare on site.
Usability is a top priority in the fast-evolving hospital setting. Doctors and nurses participate actively in formative usability studies. At the moment, there are five ongoing studies to ensure new devices fit seamlessly into clinical workflows.
Finland’s competitive edge in healthcare
GE HealthCare collaborates with a wide network of skilled Finnish companies providing manufacturing, design and testing services. GE HealthCare experts have developed over 400 patented solutions in medical technology in Finland. In Kuopio, GE HealthCare develops a variety of data systems which are used in operating theatres, for example.
Artificial intelligence and data-driven care
One of the biggest challenges in modern healthcare is the underutilisation of patient data. According to research, 97% of patient data never reaches clinicians. With the increasing volume and complexity of data, AI is becoming essential for identifying relevant insights and supporting clinical decision-making, such as in patient triage or improving patient safety.
GE HealthCare is investing in AI to enhance its devices and is eager to expand partnerships to start-ups and university researchers in particular to develop high-quality algorithms and integrate new technologies into its products. Erno Muuranto envisions an ecosystem where GE HealthCare could help pave the way for Finnish innovations through its already significant installed base in hospitals around the world.
Manufacturing excellence and global impact
Few global health technology companies have the scale of manufacturing and R&D in Finland that GE HealthCare does. The Helsinki factory is a centre of excellence for core medical technologies with production processes increasingly automated and new production lines and products introduced each year. Globally GE HealthCare tops the FDA list fourth year in a row with most AI-enabled medical devices.
Erno Muuranto concludes: “Our achievements would not be possible without the close cooperation with the Finnish healthcare system. We are truly thankful for all the driven clinicians, researchers and partners across Finland. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare and exporting world-class health technology to the world.”
Photo: René Coffeng, Senior Engineering Manager (left), and Erno Muuranto, Managing Director of GE HealthCare in Finland and Senior Director of Engineering for physiological measurements and wearables (right), present the Portrait Mobile – GE HealthCare’s wireless and wearable patient monitor – developed in Helsinki.
