GE HealthCare, a long-standing partner of HUS Helsinki University Hospital and a member of the CleverHealth Network ecosystem, is developing smart technologies that promote patient wellbeing both in Finland and abroad. In our interview, Erno Muuranto and René Coffeng from GE HealthCare discuss the use of data in health technology.
GE HealthCare, the global leader in precision medicine, develops pioneering medical imaging solutions, patient monitoring systems and digital technologies that promote more efficient and effective healthcare. The company focuses on integrating innovations into patient-centred technologies that enable healthcare professionals to provide their patients with more personalised care and achieve better clinical outcomes.
Significant product development activities in Finland
Erno Muuranto is the Managing Director of GE Healthcare’s Finnish division and the head of the unit that develops physiological monitoring and wearable devices. He wishes to begin by emphasising the significance and uniqueness of GE Healthcare’s operations in Finland. The company employs around 750 specialists in Finland, more than half of whom work in product development. Under Erno Muuranto’s leadership, the Helsinki unit develops, amongst other things, wireless and wearable patient monitoring solutions. The same site also houses a factory that manufactures medical devices, including patient monitors. These devices are exported to over 120 countries.
GE Healthcare’s roots in Finland date back to the 1970s, when Datex, the ‘data specialist unit’ of the Finnish company Instrumentarium, developed advanced carbon dioxide level monitors for use in operating theatres. GE acquired Datex in 2003, and Finland retained its position as a world-class developer of healthcare technology solutions.
Clinical partnerships and collaborative development work
At the heart of GE Healthcare’s innovation strategy is the development of close collaboration with hospitals, clinics and other industry stakeholders. The company collaborates with university hospitals, such as HUS and KYS, to collect clinically relevant patient data for product development and to test new patient monitoring solutions in real-world settings. For example, the testing of the first wireless patient monitoring system involved 300 patients and an on-site team of experts from GE Healthcare.
Usability is a crucial factor in the rapidly evolving hospital environment. Doctors and nurses are actively involved in usability studies during the development phase. There are currently five studies underway to ensure that new devices integrate seamlessly into clinical workflows.
Finland’s competitive advantage in health technology
GE Healthcare collaborates with many skilled Finnish companies that provide services in manufacturing, design and testing. More than 400 patented healthcare technology solutions have emerged from the desks of GE HealthCare’s experts working in Finland. In Kuopio, GE HealthCare develops, amongst other things, IT solutions for use in operating theatres.
The use of artificial intelligence and data-driven care solutions
The inadequate use of patient data is one of the greatest challenges facing modern healthcare. According to one study, 97 per cent of patient data never reaches the clinician. As data volumes grow and become more complex, artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important tool, which can identify relevant information and be used to support decision-making, for example in determining the urgency of treatment or ensuring patient safety.
GE HealthCare is focusing on artificial intelligence in the development of its devices and wishes to expand its partnerships with start-ups and university researchers, particularly in the development of high-quality algorithms and the integration of new technologies into its products. Erno Muuranto would like to see an ecosystem in the future where GE HealthCare could help create the conditions for Finnish innovation by utilising its significant installed base in hospitals around the world.
High-quality production and international impact
There are not many other companies in Finland developing health technologies that have manufacturing and product development capabilities as extensive as those of GE Healthcare. The Helsinki factory manufactures vital medical device solutions, with production processes that are largely automated, and new production lines and products are added every year. Globally, GE Healthcare has ranked at the top of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s list as a manufacturer of AI-assisted medical devices for the fourth year running. Erno Muuranto concludes: “We would not have achieved these advances without our collaboration with Finnish healthcare organisations. We are truly grateful to all the motivated clinicians, researchers and partners working across Finland. Together, we are building a better future for healthcare and bringing Finnish world-class health technology solutions to the rest of the world.”
Photo: René Coffeng, Senior Engineering Manager (left), and Erno Muuranto, Managing Director of GE Healthcare Finland and Head of Product Development for Physiological Monitoring and Wearable Devices (on the right), demonstrate the wireless, wearable Portrait Mobile patient monitor developed by GE Healthcare in Helsinki.
