Henri Korkalainen (henri.korkalainen@uef.fi)
Research focused on the applications of machine learning to sleep medicine. Interests in biosignal analysis, neural networks, data analysis, sleep apnea diagnostics, and health technology.
Purbanka Pahari (purbanka.pahari@uef.fi)
Department of Applied Physics
Present research interests: Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Intermittent Hypoxemia, Daytime Somnolence, Desaturation Severity
Saara Sillanmäki (saara.sillanmaki@uef.fi)
I am a medical doctor from Kuopio. My research areas include cardiac imaging and physiology, aortic dilation, and the impact of sleep apnea on the heart. I graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Eastern Finland in 2012, obtained my Doctor of Medicine degree in 2019, and specialized in Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine in 2022.
I have nineteen international publications (JUFO categories 1-3), and I have also written national articles and international textbooks. My doctoral dissertation, completed in 2019, examined the relationship between the electrical and mechanical function of the left ventricle in bundle branch block patients. In this research, I used myocardial perfusion imaging, vector ECG, and echocardiography.
In addition to my clinical work in cardiac imaging (KYS, Imaging Center), I work as a researcher in four research groups: the MOMESY research group investigating modern cardiac magnetic methods (principal investigator), the Heart Surgery Imaging Research Group studying aortic dilation (DilAo, KYS), the STAR (Sleep Technology and Analytics Group, UEF) research group conducting sleep research, and the METSIM research group studying the cardiac effects of the metabolic syndrome. Additionally, I serve as the principal investigator for two projects at KYS: “Detection of Coronary Artery Disease with Micro-Electro-Mechanical Sensors (DECADE, Precordior Oy), a project involving the identification of coronary artery disease using microelectromechanical sensors, and a Horizon2020 project focusing on EU-regulated sleep apnea research. I have also worked as a heart health and imaging expert in a multinational breast cancer radiotherapy study and as a research physician in two multinational cardiac medication studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.
I have actively participated in professional associations. I have served as the Secretary of the Finnish Medical Association’s Clinical physiology and Nuclear Medicine Section since 2015, and I became its chairman in 2018 (continuing). I also served as the Secretary of the Finnish Society of Clinical Physiology from 2016 to 2020. I have had the honor of serving on the Ethics Committee of the Northern Savo Hospital District since 2021 and as the Vice Chairman of the Imaging Section of the Finnish Cardiac Society since 2022. I am also a member of the international education-promoting committee, the Section of Nuclear Medicine of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), and the European Board of Nuclear Medicine (EBNM) CME Accreditation Committee since 2017.
A19: Sillanmäki S, Vainio HL, Ylä-Herttuala E, Husso M, Hedman M. Measuring cardiac dyssynchrony with DENSE (Displacement encoding with stimulated echoes) — a systematic review. Published Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine Sep 2023
A18: Hietakoste S, Armañac-Julián P, Karhu T, Bailón R, Sillanmäki S, Töyräs J, Leppänen T, Myllymaa S, Kainulainen S. Impaired cardiorespiratory coupling in severe sleep apnea-related hypoxemia. Published IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2023
A17: Sillanmäki S and Iso-Mustajärvi S, 18F-FDG-PET of cardiac sarcoidosis with subcutaneous nodules. Published in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology J Nucl Cardiol 2023
A16: Rissanen M, Korkalainen H, Duce B, Sillanmäki S, Pitkänen H, Suni A, Nikkonen S, Kulkas S, Töyräs J, Leppänen T, Kainulainen S. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients with Atrial Arrhythmias Suffer from Prolonged Recovery from Desaturations. Transactions on Biomedical Engineering 2023; https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2023.3236680.
A15: Hautanen S, Kiljander T, Korpela T, Saari P, Kokkonen J, Mustonen P, Sillanmäki S, Ylä-Herttuala E, Husso M, Hedman M, Kauhanen P. 4D Flow Versus 2D Phase Contrast MRI in Populations With Bi- and Tricuspid Aortic Valves. In Vivo 2023, 37(1):88-98.
A14: Leppänen T, Kainulainen S, Korkalainen H, Sillanmäki S, Kulkas A, Töyräs J, Nikkonen S. Oximetry: The Working Principle, Signal Formation, and Applications. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2022;1384:C1. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06413-5_23
A13: Ebrahimian S, Sillanmäki S, Hietakoste S, Duce B, Kulkas A, Töyräs J, Leppänen T, Lipponen JA, Kainulainen S. Inter-sleep stage variations in corrected QT interval differ between obstructive sleep apnea patients with and without stroke history. PLoS One. 2022 Dec 1;17(12):e0278520.
A12: Anttila V, Saraste A, Knuuti J, Hedman M, Jaakkola P, Laugwitz KL, Krane M, Jeppsson A, Sillanmäki S, Rosenmeier J, ZingmarkP, Rudvik A, Garkaviy P, Watson C, Pangalos MN, Fritsche-Danielson R, Collén A, Gan LM. Direct intramyocardial injection of VEGF mRNA in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Mol Ther. 2023, 17;S1525-0016(22)00675-X.
A11: Hietakoste S, Karhu T, Sillanmäki S, Bailón R, Penzel T, Töyräs J, Leppänen T, Myllymaa S, Kainulainen S. OSA-related respiratory events and desaturation severity are associated with the cardiac response. ERJ Open Research, 2022, 22(1), 204.
A10: Sillanmäki S, Lipponen JA, Korkalainen H, Kulkas A, Leppänen T, Nikkonen S, Töyräs J, Duce B, Suni A, Kainulainen S. QTc prolongation is associated with severe desaturations in stroke patients with sleep apnea. BMC Pulmonary Medicine. May 2022.
A9: Sillanmäki S, Istomina M, Husso A, Hedman M. Reversible myocardial ischaemia caused by ectopic left circumflex coronary artery: a case report. European Heart Journal – Case Report, April 2022.
A8: Hietakoste S, Korkalainen H, Kainulainen S, Sillanmäki S, Nikkonen S, Myllymaa S, Duce B, Töyräs J, Leppänen T. Longer apneas and hypopneas are associated with greater ultra-short-term HRV in obstructive sleep apnea. Sci Rep. Dec 2020.
A7: Sillanmäki S, Gimelli A, Ahmad S, Samir S, Laitinen T, Soman P. Mechanisms of Left Ventricular Dyssynchrony – A Multinational SPECT study of Patients with Bundle Branch Block. In press. J Nucl Cardiol. 2020 Feb 14.
A6: Soman P, Sillanmäki S. Mechanisms of cardiac resynchronization therapy: Inching closer to the truth. J Nucl Cardiol. 2019 Jun 21.
A5: Sillanmäki S, Aapro S, Lipponen JA, Tarvainen MP, Laitinen TM, Hedman M, Hämäläinen H, Laitinen T. Electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony in patients with Right Bundle Branch Block. Accepted for publication J Nucl Cardiol. Aug 2018
A4: Sillanmäki S Lipponen JA, Tarvainen MP, Laitinen TM, Hedman M, Hedman A, Kivelä A, Hämäläinen H, Laitinen T. Relationships between electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony in patients with left bundle branch block and healthy controls. J Nucl Cardiol. 2018 Feb 8. doi: 10.1007/s12350-018-1204-0.
A3: Koivumäki T, Fogliatac, Zeverinod, Bomane, Sierpowska, Moecklid, Vallet, Cozzici, Heikkilä, Väänänen, Vuolukka, Sillanmäki S, Seppälä. Dosimetric evaluation of modern radiation therapy techniques for left breast in deep-inspiration breath-hold, Physica Medica 2018
A2: Sillanmäki S, Koivumäki T, Laitinen TM, Hakulinen M, Hedman M, Laitinen T. BMI influence on the reproducibility of ECG-gated myocardial perfusion imaging phase analysis in comparison with novel echocardiographic dyssynchrony estimation methods. Nuclear Medicine Communications. 2016 Jul;37(7):767-74.
A1: Koivumäki T, Heikkilä J, Väänänen A, Koskela K, Sillanmäki S, Seppälä J. Flattening filter free technique in breath-hold treatments of left-sided breast cancer: The effect on beam-on time and dose distributions. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2016 Jan;118(1):194-8.
Sami Myllymaa (sami.myllymaa@uef.fi)
Adjunct professor Sami Myllymaa received his Ph.D. degree in 2010 and the title of docent in the field of Medical Physics, especially biomaterials and bioelectrode technology in 2014 from the University of Eastern Finland. He is currently acting as a Senior Researcher and Co-head of the Sleep Technology and Analytics Group (STAG) at the Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland.
His current research is focused on development of novel wearable sensors and machine learning solutions for personalized diagnostics and prognostics of sleep disorders (obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep bruxism). Furthermore, he has been very active in the field of salivary metabolomics and development of new coatings and electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics. In addition to scientific publications, his work has led to commercialization of the scientific innovations. He involved to the development of an EEG electrode set for emergency medicine. This BrainStatus EEG-electrode set (Bittium Corp.) is patented, CE-approved and currently marketed globally (https://www.bittium.com/products_services/medical/bittium_brainstatus).
Samu Kainulainen (samu.kainulainen@uef.fi)
Specialized in measurement and signal analytic techniques in translational research and sleep medicine.
Sleep Technology and Analytics Research (STAR) Group
Taru Kesävuori (taru.kesavuori@uef.fi)
Taru Kesävuori is a Doctoral Researcher in the University of Eastern Finland, Business School. She works in the Neuro-impact and innovation (NOVA) research team that produces knowledge on collaborative research and innovation strategies in the field of neuroscience. Taru works in the DATASLEEP research project that looks into the developing field of sleep research and innovation. Utilizing the theoretical perspective of innovation management the project aims to increase understanding of the diversity of sleep ecosystem actors and shed light on the underlying factors, structures, rules, and values that shape the research and innovation activities in the sleep field.
Taru obtained a BSc in Mathematics from Helsinki University in 2010 and a MSc in International Design Business Management from Aalto University in 2013. Her primary research interest lies in the datafication of society and its impacts on health R&I practices and infrastructure.
Timo Leppänen (timo.leppanen@uef.fi)
I started my studies in the University of Eastern Finland in 2011 after two years in the service for the Finnish Defense Forces. I got my bachelor, master and doctoral degrees in five years in 2016 at the age of 26 years and my thesis earned a grade of approved with distinction (which is awarded only if dissertation falls in the category of top 5% of its field). Since then, I have been a co-head and principal investigator in the STAG, a research team focusing on sleep-related disorders and development of novel methods and computational tools for sleep data analysis. Furthermore, I have established a wide international collaboration network with world’s top-level scientists and research infrastructures as well as companies operating at business sector. My research is mainly funded by the the Academy of Finland (Postdoctoral Researcher), Business Finland (NordicPerMed project NordSleep) and private foundations.
My research is focused on development of novel diagnostic parameters, mathematical solutions, and paradigms for severity estimation of obstructive sleep apnea. Therefore, it is very closely related to medical physics but it has also strong interface with clinical medicine. Thus, my research is a great example of interdisciplinary research in University of Eastern Finland but also of active research collaboration between University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital.
Tuomas Karhu (tuomas.karhu@uef.fi)
Postdoctoral researcher with interest to enhance the diagnostics of sleep disorders with advanced biosignal analysis techniques.
The topic of my PhD thesis was ”Nocturnal hypoxic load in the evaluation of the progression of sleep apnea”.