Editorial: Special Issue on Health Informatics and Personalized Medicine

The increasingly aging population, prevalence of chronic diseases and rising costs have brought about some unique healthcare challenges to our global society. In response to these unmet healthcare needs, researchers are actively seeking for innovative solutions that target for 1) prevention of diseases and 2) personalized diagnosis and treatment. It is envisaged that by taking preventive measures for health monitoring and diagnosing and treating patients with a personalized approach at an early stage of disease development, healthcarewill be more cost effective and sustainable. Engineers, computer scientists, as well as information and communication technologists all have their respective unique roles in this future health model. The authors provide an overview of the advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT), and explain how some innovative health solutions can now be delivered to individuals at a relatively low cost.