Simo Saarakkala

Simo Saarakkala is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Head of the Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology at the University of Oulu's Faculty of Medicine. He also serves as Scientific Director of Infotech Oulu Focus Institute, with research centered on osteoarthritis diagnostics and imaging across tissue, cellular, and clinical levels.

His work focuses on:

• Understanding osteoarthritis etiology and progression mechanisms
• Developing early diagnostic methodologies for pre-symptomatic detection
• Integrating machine learning and computer vision in musculoskeletal imaging
• Translating biomechanical research into clinical applications

Prof. Saarakkala leads the DIOS (Diagnostics of Osteoarthritis) research group comprising multidisciplinary scientists and engineers. His grant portfolio includes prestigious European Research Council funding with active projects spanning tissue-level analysis to clinical implementation.

Professional recognition includes:

• ERC Starting Grant (2014-2018) for pioneering osteoarthritis imaging research
• ERC Proof of Concept Grant (2020-2021) for clinical translation of diagnostic tools