Refer to the DITIS Brochure, as presented at eHealth 2003, or read on..

ΔΙΤΗΣ stands for Network for Medical Collaboration and is a system that supports the dynamic creation, management and co-ordination of virtual collaborative medical teams, for the continuous treatment of patients with chronic diseases at home and specialist healthcare centres.

The aim of DITIS is to deliver a product that can improve the quality of the citizen´s life. Contrary to today´s health processing structure which is, in all practical terms facility-based care, this project aims to shift the focus onto home-based care, where everything is moving around the patient. The virtual healthcare team will be able to provide dedicated, personalized and private service to the home residing patient on a need based and timely fashion, under the direction of the treating specialist. Thus, it is expected that chronically and severely ill patients, such as cancer patients, can enjoy “optimum“ health service in the comfort of their home while feeling safe and secure. In case of a change in their condition, the health care team will be (virtually) present to support them.

DITIS is an Internet (web) based Group Collaboration system with secure fixed and mobile (GPRS/GSM/WAP) connectivity. It employs Mobile Agents, Web Databases with Java Database Connectivity for storage and processing of information, including Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and coding of diagnosis and health care protocols pertinent to cancer patients, software for collaborative work, intelligent interface for uniform access to the common database and the Group Collaboration software for both fixed and mobile computing units. See more on research here.

The system was initiated in 1999 as a two year research project and has since then been funded by a number of organizations: the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, the University of Cyprus, Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends(PASYKAF), and NetU consultants Ltd. DITIS has also been supported by the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CYTA), WinMob Technologies Ltd, Ericsson (through S.A. Petrides Ltd), Microsoft, and the Cyprus Development Bank (CDB). See more on project Sponsors here.

DITIS is currently supporting the activities of PASYKAF who offer home-care services for cancer patients in Cyprus. Plans are in place for a second phase of the project, leading to pan Cyprian deployment with emphasis on tele-collaboration, and commercialization opportunities (see summary of DITIS II goals). In 2003, DITIS secured renewed infrastructure support from CYTA, a grant from the Microsoft Research Center in Cambridge, UK, and a second grant from the Research Promotion Foundation in Cyprus for continuing development on phase two. The team is actively seeking additional support from other organizations.