The recently completed report is part of the SAINI project (interactive electronic services for citizens) coordinated by the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra) and involving the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), the National Public Health Institute, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the Finnish Centre for Health Promotion (Tekry) and other operators, companies and financing institutions in health care and information and communications industries.

Garments that can measure a wearer's body temperature or trace their heart activity are just entering the market, but the European project BIOTEX weaves new functions into smart textiles. Miniaturised biosensors in a textile patch can now analyse body fluids, even a tiny drop of sweat, and provide a much better assessment of someone's health.

The EU supports research and innovation activities through a range of programmes, including the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and Structural Funds. Now the European Commission is developing a guide to help researchers select the right programme for their activities and even combine funds from different sources.

The objective of the Drug Check project is to validate an on-line, pan-European service, which gathers, organises, stores, makes available and presents information and data covering pharmaceuticals and their interactions.

Clothes, bed sheets and home appliances could soon help heart patients to better deal with their condition. The new EU-funded HeartCycle project sets out to create innovative telemonitoring solutions. Launched on 1 March, it is one of the largest biomedical and healthcare research projects in the EU.

Health-e-Child (HeC) is working to produce a universal biomedical knowledge repository and communication conduit for the future, a common vehicle by which all clinicians will access, analyse, evaluate, enhance and exchange biomedical data of all forms.

The new IT systems in the NHS are on course to deliver better care and an estimated £1.14 billion in savings by 2014, according to the first annual Benefits Statement published by the Government. It shows that since its introduction, the National Programme for IT has already delivered a total of £208 million in savings by providing quicker, more efficient and convenient patient care.