Updated: Aug 26, 1998
This is the most recent structured information on this project. Complementary data can be found on previous documents
CATCH II Citizen's Advisory System Based on Telematics for Communication & Health - II

Overview

The European citizen's interest in Health is increasing and with it his/her need for information. The project CATCH has found this to be true. The aim of CATCH-II is to validate and commercialise a concept for a network based European information service on health. This service is to assist laymen, helping them to bridge the gap between their knowledge and that of the professional working in the area of health, and broadening or extending their knowledge according to their needs. The service is based on a multimedia and multilingual advisory system for health which can be used without any expert knowledge. This tool for everyone can also be used by professionals in the field of health when working with patients, clients, or customers. It can be used anywhere (at home, at work, in doctors' waiting rooms, in hospitals, in public health departments, in schools, etc.) where there is access to a communications network (telephone, network, ISDN, ATM). These points of access can be PCs with multimedia facilities or public information kiosks with a communication connection (modem, ISDN-card). Kiosks provide access to those citizens who do not have the appropriate PC.

Purpose and objectives

Moreover, the conditions will be established for full public access to this new online service and commercial exploitation of the system will be explored at the same time. The speedy creation of the infrastructure for online-services in most European countries, and the increasing amount of their subscribers set-up good conditions for a successful comprehensive access to CATCH-II.

Attempts will also be made to integrate the CATCH-II system into existing or up-and-coming information systems which exist in for example, public libraries, hospitals, health insurance companies, doctors' practices, public health departments, schools, enterprises, and even large supermarkets, etc.

Finally, the CATCH-II system is a European product and it should help pave the way for European industries to open up a new service sector in the European market. The existing European information and communication infrastructure can be used for this purpose.

Further objectives of CATCH-II are as follow:

• To obtain information on the users’ needs for interactive multimedia information in the area of prevention of illness, cardiology, cancer, and psychological disturbance
• To identify the relevant software, etc., to be used for kiosk use and for connecting the CATCH-II data-base system to internet and other networks
• To develop a Business/Marketing plan to ensure market exploitation of the CATCH-II Project's outcomes.
• To gather existing material, as well as produce new material (texts, graphics, videos, photographs, and sounds) for the multi-media multi-lingual CATCH-II data-base
• To install CATCH-II at different sites
• To obtain the conclusions concerning the effects of research and the industrial value of the CATCH-II project in a European context and use of the stand-alone kiosk, client-server kiosk, stand-alone desktop, and internet based configurations of CATCH-II
• To ensure commercial revenues to the project and promote CATCH-II experience and service

Results

List of deliverables

Year 1

• D1.1 Reports to be submitted to the European Commission (P)
• D2.1 Report about basic didactics to communicate with users (11, P)
• D2.2 Report about search patterns and preferences on WWW (11, P)

Year 2

• D3.1 Report on technical and functional specifications for a CATCH-II client-server system, with 2-level architecture, which can be used on a multimedia and multilingual basis in the countries and locations involved (17, R)
• D4.1 Marketing & Strategy Plan Document for the dissemination and market exploitation of the CATCH-II outcomes (23, R)
• D5 1 Multimedia and multilingual CATCH-II knowledge-base and comments on implementation of content into software (21, R)
• D6.1 Installation and operation of CATCH-II at the installation sites with report on pilot testing (21, R/P)
• D7.1 Report on the value and feasibility of the system concerning its content and price (22, R)
• D7.2 Comparing data with research results and applicable ISO-norms (23, R)
• D7.3 Report on Internet testing of measurable objectives (23, R)
• D8.1 Report on the installation and operation of the CATCH-II configuration at every site (23, P)

List of participants

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