Brief History The Institute of Medical Informatics (IMI) at National Cheng Kung University is the first high-ranking academic institute that combines information technology with medical research in southern Taiwan. IMI began its operation with the establishment of MS program in August 2006. The aims of IMI are the integration of information technology and medical research, the nurture of talents in medical information, and the development of the oncoming medical informatics’ industry. Developing Directions The fundamental knowledge and technology of computer science and information engineering have been well developed. Thus, the challenge and goal will be “application and service” in the 21st century. In order to follow this trend, IMI will devote to the cultivation of information engineering talents as well as in the research and development of technology related to medical informatics’ software and hardware. IMI will make use of its research facilities to provide services to the industrial and business sectors and the government, establish communication channels between the academic circle and the industrial and business sector. It is intended to help industries and businesses upgrade their levels in hopes to further increasing national and global competitiveness. We also expect and aim to advance our institute to be an international first-class academic palace under the support of the Program for Promoting Academic Excellence of Universities of MOE. Research The research domains and application areas of Institute of Medical Informatics (IMI) are very diverse and varied. In the starting stage of IMI, we focus on the following topics and directions: ◾Medical signal processing ◾Medical information processing ◾Bio informatics ◾Medical information networking ◾Medical information embedded systems ◾Medical information system design and development