Nokia and Mehiläinen Hospital set up a joint trial for mobile telehealth services

Nokia and Mehiläinen, a private hospital in Helsinki, Finland, have initiated a trial that aims to develop new kinds of treatment concepts. The objective is to gain experience on how treatment and health care services can be provided in off- hospital premises, typically at home. The trial combines two basic technologies: measurement of vital signs of the human body and wireless communication.

The trial network has been established in co-operation with Finnish operator Sonera and Uniqmed, a high technology company with strong expertise in signal measurement and analysis technology.

The service concept to be tested is based on the idea to treat a patient at home, by measuring regularly certain signals such as pulse rate, blood pressure or ECG (electrocardiogram) from the patient's body and by sending the measurement results in real time to healthcare professionals in the hospital. The signals measured can be changed during the course of the treatment process.

"We see mobile telehealth as a great opportunity" said Timo Karrinaho, Business Development Director of Mehiläinen Hospital. "This technology will enable us to treat those patients at home who are not in a critical condition. This will improve our capability to take more patients in. The same technology will also mean new possibilities for preventative treatment or better quality of life for the elderly."

The concept to be tested is based on a special type of equipment and software developed by Uniqmed. It includes measurement of vital signs of the human body, transmission of the information over a GSM network and post-processing of the information in real time. "We have developed this concept for several years, and now the product and the demand seem to be in balance," said Hannu Luukka, Managing Director of Uniqmed. "This trial will give valuable information for further development of the concept".

"From Sonera's perspective this is an interesting trial that enables development of new kind of mobile services for health care", added Pentti Lamminpää, Sales Manager, Sonera.

"Nokia sees this as a good example on how mobile technology can be used as a platform for new types of services," said Kalervo Lahtela, Senior Business Manager, Nokia. "It is not that much about technology but about a new kind of thinking. Nokia's network solutions provide an excellent platform for mobile telehealth services. Security, user identification and integrity are examples of areas where even better solutions will be seen in the near future."

Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is one of the most broadly held companies in the world with listings on six major exchanges.

Further information:

Timo Karrinaho
Mehiläinen Hospital
Mob +358 50 622 94
timo.karrinaho@dlc.fi

Nokia Networks
Communications
Tel +358 9 5113 8195
nokia.networks@nokia.com
www.nokia.com

Hannu Luukka
Uniqmed
Mob +358 40 5656 220
hannu.luukka@uniqmed.fi

Pentti Lamminpää
Sonera Solutions Ltd
Mob +358 40 520 0713
pentti.lamminpaa@sonera.com