Within the framework of the SHARE project funded by the European Commission, a Knowledge Base on HealthGrids has been developed and made available to the worlwide community.

Action on Grids for health is needed at EU level to address mobility of citizens and provide crossfrontier interoperability of data, cross-frontier infrastructures, best exploitation of resources (both technical and medical), equal distribution of healthcare and definition and implementation of standards.

Health-EU - the European health portal covering a vast range of health topics, is now available in 20 European languages. The portal was first launched in May 2006 by the European Commission's Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs, and is a 'one stop shop' for Europeans wanting to find out what's happening across a broad range of health issues in their own countries and across Europe.

In the context of the project Emergency Monitoring and Prevention (EMERGE) funded by the European Union, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE together with other European partners is developing approaches and solutions to extend the time that elderly people can live a self-determined life in their own homes. The project started on 01 February 2007 and has a duration of 33 months.

Call for Chapters!
Editors: Athina A. Lazakidou, Ph.D and Konstantinos M. Siassiakos, Ph.D, University of Piraeus, Greece

Individuals interested in submitting chapters (5,000-7,500 words) should submit via e-mail a 2-3 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of the proposed chapter by March 31, 2007.

"Telepsychiatry" refers to the use of telecommunication technologies with the aim of providing psychiatric services from a distance [1]. Telepsychiatry connects patients and mental health professionals, permitting effective diagnosis, treatment, education, transfer of medical data and other activities related to mental health care. Several studies demonstrated high reliability- and patients acceptance of telepsychiatry [2,3,4,5,6,7].

Information and communication technologies are increasingly being used to improve the quality, provision and access to care while also bringing new elements to the reflection on the financial sustainability of health systems. However, questions exist over the legal and regulatory implications for eHealth services, especially as these can cross institutional boundaries and national borders.

It may not be long before swarms of tiny mobile robots will be giving a hand to the nurses and medical orderlies in hospitals. January month has been the official launch of a new EU project led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO.