IT'IS Mission

The Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT'IS) is an independent, nonprofit research foundation dedicated to improving and strengthening the quality of people's lives by advancing personalized medicine through computational life sciences and beneficial applications of electromagnetic (EM) energy and wireless communications (EM Research). The Foundation was established in 1999 through the initiative and support of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, the global wireless communications industry, and several governmental agencies.

IT’IS supports the R&D efforts of its Zurich43 (Z43) alliance partner organizations (see below), as well as its many academic and industrial partners, to pursue precompetitive and non-competitive research, and offers a variety of customized research solutions to the wireless and medical device industries, to academic and national institutions, and to governments and regulatory bodies.

IT'IS Foundation mission statement:

• IT'IS is an independent, non-profit, tax-exempt research institute.
• IT'IS is dedicated to expanding the scientific basis of the safe and beneficial applications of EM energy and information technologies.
• IT'IS is committed to pursuing advanced research in simulation methodology and applications of physical, physiological and biological processes to bridge the gap between bench and bedside in the field of personalized medicine.
• IT'IS is committed to foster in silico studies including clinical trials and regulatory grade modeling, with a particular focus on validation & verification methods.
• IT'IS provides a proactive, creative and innovative research environment for the cultivation of sound science and good education.

To further our research aims, drive development and fund our non-profit activities, the IT'IS Laboratory offers customized research services, focusing on new test procedures which extend the scope and methodology beyond what is addressed by current norms or technical specifications. These procedures are published in scientific journals and are developed, validated, and disseminated to relevant standards organizations. Our partner base includes prominent members of leading industries and many of the most important government and regulatory agencies (see Partners).

The Laboratory operates independently and impartially, and in accordance with the requirements of ISO 17025. All contracts are handled with strict confidentiality.

Due to the international character of Z43, English is the official language.

Strategic Plan

• IT'IS develops multi-physics, multi-scale simulation approaches (i) to optimize individual diagnostic, treatment planning, and therapeutic techniques, and (ii) to model interactions between physical agents and complex biological processes and structures.
• IT'IS continually develops the most advanced computational models representing the human population and laboratory animals.
• IT'IS performs risk and safety assessments of EM energy, including but not limited to energy distribution and wireless information technologies.
• IT'IS seeks to identify new research areas and explore new scientific frontiers at the interface of computation, biology, physics, and engineering, while maintaining its mission.
• IT'IS continuously strengthens its position as a world-renowned center of excellence in computational life sciences and near-field electromagnetics.

Implementation Plan

The IT’IS Foundation implementation plan provides a framework for action to accomplish the mission and strategic plan:

• IT'IS acquires consistent and primary funding from national and international funding agencies, donors, sponsors, government agencies, and foundations, as well as from licensing intellectual property rights (IPR). Funds for projects with non-disclosure agreement (NDA) restrictions may be accepted when there is the potential for new research areas with no NDA restrictions or to support other projects.
• IT'IS pursues joint research opportunities with leading research organizations, regulators, and industries.
• IT'IS actively collaborates with national and international standards organizations.
• IT'IS disseminates knowledge to experts, the media, and the general public through, e.g., posters, publications and participation in / organization of conferences, seminars, and workshops.
• IT'IS provides an innovative and creative research environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, bringing together scientists with diverse perspectives from across various disciplines.
• IT'IS develops a capital reserve fund and an IPR portfolio to maintain long-term funding.

About Zurich43

Zurich43 (Z43) is a strategic alliance formed of the four partner organizations IT’IS, SPEAG, ZMT Zurich MedTech AG and TI Solutions AG. Our common aspiration lies in pioneering new ideas, delivering break-through innovations, and creating outstanding solutions for the safe and beneficial application of EM energy and information technologies, as well as for optimized and more targeted medical treatments.

Driven by sound science and an unyielding passion for excellence, Z43 is a leading global player, collaborating with a wide range of international research partners and serving over 500 customers worldwide. The more than 100-strong multidisciplinary R&D team of scientists, engineers and sales/support continuously develops customized solutions and, over the years, has established an impeccable reputation for quality by creating value in its services and products through active and long-term responsible ownership.

IT'IS and all its Z43 alliance partners are headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.