Jaakko Lähteenmäki: 40 years at the heart of the health technology transformation

Jaakko’s career at VTT offers a cross-section of the development of Finnish health technology: first came connectivity, then services, and today the focus is on finding ways to make use of data. The emphasis of research and development has shifted from individual technologies to the benefits they can deliver for people, healthcare and businesses.

When Jaakko joined VTT in 1986, the basic structures of the digital world were only just being built. Over the next 40 years, the focus shifted from communications technology to applications and digital services, then to the use of health data and ultimately to artificial intelligence.

His duties, research topics and working environment have changed many times. Even VTT’s logo has changed three times.

The first stage of Jaakko’s career, from 1986 to 2000, focused on wireless systems. His work included research into radio-wave propagation, measurement systems for mobile phones, positioning, and software for designing indoor and outdoor networks. This work built expertise that was later needed in wireless digital services and health technology solutions.

The work laid the foundation for the digital communications layer on which later services were built. 

Around the turn of the millennium, Jaakko’s work began to focus increasingly on digital health technology. Between 2000 and 2015, he was involved in developing and piloting health-monitoring systems that enabled data generated by patients to be shared with healthcare providers. This period also saw the creation of personal health applications that gave users feedback on matters such as physical activity, as well as research and consultancy on personal health data repositories.

Alongside the technology, increasing attention was paid to how solutions could serve people and healthcare in practice. 

Ten years ago, the effective use of health data became a central theme. Companies were invited to join the PreMed project to explore how registry and biobank data could be used in applications for health, nutrition and well-being. The PROFIT and MAITE projects developed predictive models based on artificial intelligence algorithms.

The projects also highlighted the decisive impact of public regulation on the use of health data: in addition to technical functionality, solutions must take the responsible use of data into account. VTT has actively contributed to defining the European Health Data Space (EHDS). 

“In the 1980s and 1990s, work at VTT was laboratory-centred, and customer projects were initiated from the bottom up. EU-funded projects began to grow in importance. In the 2000s, VTT’s processes became digitalised, and strategy and value have gained more emphasis,” Jaakko recalls. 

“Over the past decade, remote working, centralised services and the use of artificial intelligence have changed the way we work. The number of international customers has increased, and research projects are larger than before,” he continues.

Jaakko describes VTT as an excellent workplace where he has been able to follow technological development from a front-row seat and do interesting work with highly skilled people. He particularly values the support he has received from colleagues over the years.

He leaves future generations of researchers with this advice: “Do not accept everything you hear at face value; think for yourself. Trust your own instincts and judgement, too.”

Jaakko is now retiring, but VTT will not disappear from view: his balcony overlooks VTT FutureHub and the illuminated VTT logo on its roof. So, the monitoring will continue, but without project numbers or time entries.