Our view of a healthy society
Improving the physical and mental health of individuals. That’s our ambition. This requires innovation and a new perspective on health and healthcare. Our living environment plays an important role, because healthier living environments prevent almost a quarter of global diseases.
The Dutch government has drawn up a number of missions for the coming years. The goal is that by 2040, all Dutch people will live in good health at least 5 years longer. There should also be a smaller gap between the health of the lowest and highest economic groups. The ambition is to reduce these health differences by 30%.
5 key points for a healthy society
At TNO, we want to make a demonstrable contribution to these missions. Together with government agencies, knowledge institutes, and companies, we develop technological and social innovations that improve health and professional employability. In this way, we contribute to a healthy, vital, and productive population, lower healthcare costs, and increased economic growth. We focus on 5 key points.
1. Effective prevention and behavioural intervention
We make a demonstrable contribution to maintaining health and halving lifestyle and work-related diseases. By preventing or curing these diseases, we can ensure that many people enjoy a better quality of life and we save a lot of money. We therefore contribute to developing innovations that help patients to change their lifestyle, among other things.
2. Personalised digital and analogue health and lifestyle interventions
We believe that personalised prevention, treatment, and support – both digital and analogue – should be the norm. Because everyone is different. Physically, but also in terms of genetic background, mental health, and social context. That's why we develop customised technological solutions and frameworks. For example, personalised pills. We also focus on models to bring data together into personalised and comprehensible recommendations.
3. Faster, better, and cheaper drug development
We want healthcare to remain affordable for everyone and accessible to all. To this end, the production of drugs must be made faster, better, and cheaper. At TNO, we develop technologies and models for this and make them usable by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
4. A healthy, innovative work environment
We contribute to a healthy work environment with safe-by-design solutions, behavioural interventions, and models showing the effects on health. We also work on innovations to predict and control the indoor climate. One example is sensors that let you know if you’re ingesting dangerous substances. In addition, we work towards an inclusive, sustainable, and flexible labour market. This keeps employees healthy and enables them to work longer.
5. Healthy living environment
The environment in which we grow up, live, work, exercise, sleep, and relax affects our health. The combination of exposure to polluted air and noise pollution, for example, has a major impact on us. At TNO, we work with field labs in which we create a healthy living environment through the monitoring of toxic substances and modelling. We do this, for example, by researching the indoor climate (healthy buildings) and through emission measurements and emission distribution models. But also by monitoring air quality from space, assessing exposure, and explaining the effect of exposure.
This is how we work on a healthy society
Ancora Health develops personal diabetes plan with 360 methodology
With the help of TNO's knowledge of diabetic typing, Ancora Health wants to implement a diabetes lifestyle programme within healthcare.


MixMasters uses TNO phenotype test to offer personalised nutrition
TNO is helping MixMasters answer the question 'How can we personalise while remaining user-friendly?' Moreover, during their collaboration, the idea for a new concept was born: FoodiYou.


Personalised Health: Take it personal
TNO helps companies develop scientifically based personalised health applications. Knowledge is translated into applications by using a systems approach, and personalised health is put into practice. An example of this is the collaboration with Gabriele Ronnett of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Company.


Personalised Health: From science to market
Are you interested in developing personalised health in order to contribute to a healthier society? Get inspired by the experience of companies that already innovate with us. Watch this interactive webinar for the latest insights in personalised health: from science to market.
TNO publishes fully integreated Annual Report 2022
TNO's Annual Report 2022 is published. For the first time, it concerns a fully integrated annual report, in which sustainability is fully incorporated into the general annual report.

