A consultation inviting citizens, businesses and researchers to share ideas on how best to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to help older Europeans live more independently, and more generally to establish new ways to put ICTs at the service of the most vulnerable members of society, has been launched by a high-level panel established to advise the European Commission on the functioning of the Ambient Assisted Living joint programme (AAL JP).

Implementing the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe unveiled by the European Commission would contribute significantly to the EU's economic growth and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of society.

Europe's digital economy is growing in strength, spreading throughout all sectors of the economy and reaching into all areas of our lives, according to the European Commission's Digital Competitiveness report. Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have driven half of the productivity growth in Europe over the past 15 years.

The University of Nottingham and leading healthcare systems supplier EMIS have made the QRisk2® formula for identifying heart disease risk available as open source software.

Recently founded professional NGO focusing on Telemedicine, eHealth and Health ICT, intensifies efforts directed at mobilization of resources and bringing together important players in the field, to boost usage of modern Information and Communication Technologies in support of country's health care system.

The overall aim is to make participation transparent and attractive to the best researchers and innovative companies in Europe and beyond. Ensuring European research realises its full potential is crucial to the EU's Europe 2020 Strategy, given the need to consolidate economic recovery and develop new sources of growth and jobs to replace those lost in the crisis.

Developing intelligent artificial hands for hand amputees, neural devices to help people suffering from vertigo, dizziness and other vestibular disorders and the possibility to see how your brain responds while learning are a few examples of European research carried out in the area of future and emerging information and communication technologies (FET) that were presented in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.