Antti Vehkaoja is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology of Tampere University, Finland. He leads research in sensor technology and biomeasurements at Tampere University and also serves as Head of Algorithms at PulseOn, a Finnish health technology company developing wearable solutions for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac arrhythmias. His collaboration with CICECO has been longstanding through joint research activities, support for international networking initiatives, and the supervision of researcher exchanges between Finland and Portugal.

As part of the celebrations marking CICECO’s 25th anniversary, Dr. Vehkaoja delivered a seminar dedicated to emerging technologies for health monitoring and disease detection. Held at the University of Aveiro within the framework of the ECIU University partnership, the seminar explored how physiological parameters such as respiratory rate, pulse rate, pulse variability, and blood oxygen saturation can be continuously monitored through unobtrusive sensing systems integrated into everyday environments.

Among the examples discussed were camera-based technologies capable of detecting subtle skin colour changes associated with physiological processes, as well as wearable devices designed for long-term health monitoring.

A particular highlight was the presentation of the ThrombUS+ project, an innovative portable ultrasound system developed for the detection of deep vein thrombosis. The wireless platform uses compact ultrasound probes attached to the patient’s leg and enables automated analysis of the collected data, with the potential to support faster diagnosis and reduce dependence on specialist imaging appointments.

Strengthening international collaboration

Reflecting on his collaboration with CICECO, Dr. Vehkaoja highlighted the value of multidisciplinary research environments in fostering innovation. Check below the interview:

You have been collaborating with CICECO through the SENSORBILITY project and other initiatives, including doing research in Aveiro. How would you describe your experience working with CICECO and its research community?

Working with researchers at CICECO has been an extremely positive and inspiring experience. The tackled research problems have been highly multidisciplinary and scientifically stimulating and the research environment has been very welcoming, providing excellent opportunities for knowledge exchange, high-quality research, and the development of new research ideas and international collaborations.

You have also contributed to training activities, including hosting a CICECO PhD student in your laboratory. From your perspective, what is the value of these research exchanges for scientific development and training?

Research exchanges are extremely valuable for both scientific development and general researcher training, as they enable the sharing of expertise, methodologies, and perspectives between different research environments. Hosting and working closely with international researchers and PhD students also fosters new collaborations, accelerates learning, and helps young researchers develop both scientific and intercultural skills.

CICECO is strongly rooted in materials science, while your work focuses on biomedical sensing and health technologies. Where do you see the strongest synergies between these areas?

There are very strong synergies between advanced materials science and biomedical sensing, since the performance of modern health technologies increasingly depends on novel functional materials, miniaturization, and improved sensor interfaces. In particular, developments in bio- and nanomaterials, thin films, and biofunctional surfaces create exciting opportunities for more sensitive, wearable, and patient- as well as environment-friendly sensing solutions for healthcare applications.

Your research integrates sensor technology and biomeasurements for health applications. What are currently the main scientific and technological challenges in this field?

One of the main challenges is achieving reliable, clinically meaningful measurements in real-world conditions, where signals are often affected by motion artifacts, individual physiological variability, and long-term stability issues. At the same time, there is a growing need to combine advanced sensor materials, wearable technologies, and intelligent data analysis methods, including AI-based approaches, to enable accurate, continuous, and personalized health monitoring.

At Tampere University, you have access to a hospital-integrated environment for testing. How does this proximity to clinical practice influence the development and validation of your technologies?

The close collaboration with clinicians and access to a hospital environment are extremely valuable, as they enable us to evaluate technologies in clinically relevant conditions and better understand real healthcare needs. This proximity also accelerates validation, supports translational research, and helps ensure that the developed solutions are practical, reliable, and truly beneficial for patient care.

Looking ahead, what developments do you consider most relevant for the future of wearable and remote health monitoring systems?

In the future, I believe the most important developments will involve seamless integration of wearable sensors, multimodal physiological monitoring, and intelligent AI-based analytics able to analyze long-term changes in data. These advances are needed to provide more personalized and predictive healthcare solutions. Another key direction is improving long-term usability and reliability through flexible, low-power, and unobtrusive sensor technologies that can operate continuously in everyday environments.

His visit reinforced the strong links between CICECO and international partners working at the interface of materials science, engineering, and healthcare technologies, while showcasing how interdisciplinary collaboration can contribute to addressing some of the most pressing challenges in modern medicine.

Check the photos of Professor Antti: Link.