Estonia’s e-health system is an international model, but its next leap forward requires higher-quality health data, greater involvement of doctors and evidence of the real benefits of digital solutions, say three European health informatics experts.
health technology
Just as we scan our own shopping and book flights and hotels ourselves, healthcare is increasingly moving towards self-service. TalTech Professor Peeter Ross believes people could collect and manage more of their own health data and receive advice before illness develops. Estonia is already taking its first steps in that direction.
After a heart attack or stroke, patients are prescribed medication and sent home. What happens next depends largely on how well they follow their treatment plan and attend check-ups on time. TalTech researchers are now testing an AI-based digital doctor to monitor patients continuously at home, remind them to take medication and flag when a doctor or nurse is needed.
Smartwatches collect ever more data about our health, but not every reading can yet be trusted. TalTech researchers are investigating how to make information collected on the wrist usable in healthcare.
Tallinn University of Technology-supported Estonian natural cosmetics brand tilk! is patenting a method for producing a black garlic-based extract that originated nearly five years ago through collaboration with TalTech researchers. To protect the innovation developed in Estonia, the company has registered a utility model and also submitted an international patent application.
At TalTech’s School of Science conference, early stage researcher Kärol Soodla from the Department of Cybernetics explained something most of us never think about: why some muscles get tired quickly, while others can hold us upright all day long.
A new AI-powered posture analysis tool developed at TalTech’s Health and Space Technology Lab, in collaboration with RightStep, allows anyone to assess their body alignment using a single photo. The system was designed to be fast, private, and easy to use – and its origins stretch from space research to sports rehabilitation.
The panel discussion at the university's health and food technology focus center’s specialty day showed that while Estonia’s vision is clear and effective solutions already exist, the sector still faces various obstacles such as bureaucracy, labor shortages, and fragmentation – there is a lack of a cooperation mechanism that would lead problems swiftly to solutions.
We live in an era where people are living longer, but with this comes an increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases – such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Current treatments only provide temporary relief and do not reach the root cause of the disease.
Olesja Bondarenko, co-founder and CEO of the Estonian startup Nanordica Medical and a TalTech alumna, won second place in the European Union Women Innovators Competition in the Women Leaders category, organised by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). She was awarded for her special therapeutic wound dressing.