WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2006 -- World Congress, the leading producer of global healthcare forums such as the The World Healthcare Congress and Leadership Summit Series, announced today that the European project PIPS (Personalized Information Platform for Life and Health Services) was unveiled today at the 2nd World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress (WHITC), in Washington, D.C.

Remembering therapies and checking their interactions, choosing appropriate foods for our diets, communicating in real-time with our doctor for timely advice and suggestions: in the lives of each and every one of us, there is an increasing need for useful, safe, and personalized information, accurately selected based on our specific requirements and preferences.

The ultimate challenge of PIPS is to exploit the most advanced information technologies in order to encourage healthier individual choices in our daily lives by providing the "individual" precise information to improve one's well- being and quality of life, to prevent and to keep under control diseases and also to guarantee continuous support to treatments after being discharged from the hospital or to chronically ill patients. PIPS is an attentive, discreet, and loyal "virtual assistant," always available: all you need is a computer, a mobile phone, and an internet connection. PIPS wants to help the individual. A loyal virtual assistant who translates medical advice and prescriptions into practical suggestions which accompany all our daily decisions, be they big or small. If put in constant use PIPS helps to improve the quality of life and also prevent possible risks to one's health.

"The WHITC event is the most appropriate forum to introduce PIPS to the U.S. for the first time and giving healthcare policy makers and thought leaders of the U.S. a glimpse of real-world examples of innovative information technologies that can be used as business models to improve healthcare quality," said Dr. Sanna.

About San Raffaele Institute and Project Partners:

San Raffaele Institute has been appointed to coordinate the PIPS project with the collaboration of 16 other European and international partners: Atos Origin (Italy), European Commission (Ispa, Varese), Astra Zeneca (Italy), GlaxoSmithKline (Italy), University of Parma (Italy), Fundacion Para la Investigacion Nutricional (Barcellona, Spain), ITACA (Valencia, Spain), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Madrid, Spain), Marsh (Rotherdams, Netherlands), GdanskUniveristy of Technology (Gdansk, Poland), Atena (Sopot, Poland), University of Liverpool (UK), Health on the Net (Geneva, Switzerland), Medic4all (Petah Tykva, Israel), University Health Network (Toronto, Canada) and Neusoft (Shenyang, China).

As a whole, there are about 150 people joining forces on the project -- from doctors to nutritionists to psychologists to researchers from both the health area as well as information technology. There are also about 50 people ranging from university professors, health institute directors and experts operating in the health sector who play the role of external consultants responsible for evaluating and providing feedback on the project.

Registration Information:

Please visit http://www.whitcongress.com for detailed program information and registration information.

About WHITC:

The World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress (WHIT Congress), co-sponsored by The Wall Street Journal is a global forum presenting innovative technological advances and thought leadership in the use of technology to transform healthcare practice and enable better access, quality, safety, and greater cost effectiveness in the delivery of healthcare.

To contact HSR for media inquiries please contact: laura.arghittu@hsr.it