CITRIS: Using Information Technology to Improve Healthcare

Message from Acting Director Paul Wright

Greetings from Berkeley, California, headquarters of CITRIS, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society.  Since its inception, CITRIS has succeeded in channeling innovative research toward societal problems at each of our four University of California campuses (Berkeley, Davis and its Medical Center Campus, Merced, and Santa Cruz ).  In doing so, it has also served as the focal point of research collaboration between industry, academia and the public, as a conduit for educating a new wave of innovators to enter the workforce, and as a locus of intelligent discourse and innovation.  For example, the contributions of CITRIS researchers to wireless sensor network technology have proven instrumental to creating a new industry in radio frequency identification technology (RFID), and we will continue to strive for success as we focus on our five major research initiatives in Energy and the Environment, Intelligent Infrastructures, Healthcare, Services, and Technology for Emerging Regions.

There is no doubt that health care is a societal-scale problem, and the CITRIS Healthcare thrust is an essential component of our mission.   The capacities of healthcare systems nearly everywhere are strained due to demographic shifts, consumer trends, demand, labor force productivity, increasing costs, and societal forces, among other factors. Fundamental and applied research in science and engineering can greatly contribute to improving clinical care, care delivery, and quality of life for many affected individuals. Research in this fertile area brings together scientists, engineers and clinicians in the multidisciplinary spirit of CITRIS.

Our projects include:

• Information environments to improve the safety, quality and delivery of care;

• Extending the reach of care through next-generation telemedicine technology and services;

• Helping the elderly age in place through a variety of technologies and approaches including falls detection, sensor networks, and handheld devices;

• Creating novel medical devices and tools to improve the costs, quality, safety and access to care. 

We have assembled this brochure, which highlights just a few of the healthcare-related projects that we are working on, and hope that it can serve as a basis of discussion for finding mutual research interests that we can pursue together. I would also like to extend an invitation to you to visit (mostly) sunny California and visit us at CITRIS so that we can discuss these topics in person.

Our mission is to engage in fundamental and applied research that will increase the capacity and lower the cost of the healthcare system not only in California , but throughout the world. We look forward to working with you to achieve this ambitious goal.