BioMedIT provides a secure platform for research using sensitive data. It allows for the mobilisation of health data, its processing and exploitation in support of improved clinical practice and new biomedical knowledge.  

This platform spans three major Swiss research institutions, which employ modern cloud technology and cutting-edge security procedures. Data from providers such as hospitals and research organizations is encrypted and transferred into the platform, where it can be safely accessed by Swiss researchers or groups from all academic research institutions.

BioMedIT is open to all Swiss universities, research institutes, hospitals, service providers and other interested partners. In addition, and specifically within the framework of the two Swiss national initiatives SPHN and PHRT, the BioMedIT Network can be used for mono- and multi-site, individual and collaborative research projects. BioMedIT is a project of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

Read about the achievements of BioMedIT in the report on the first SPHN funding phase 2017-2020.

The three BioMedIT sites (nodes) form a shared security zone, such that once data is brought into the platform, it can be accessed and processed on any of the nodes. Projects from research consortia or single researchers wishing to use sensitive data are set up as research projects on one of the nodes in a BioMedIT project-specific environment, called a 'B-space'.

Research groups can access their B-spaces via the BioMedIT Portal, where they can manage users and encryption keys, initiate data transfers and access support and other tools and services offered by BioMedIT.

Researchers securely access the system using two factor authentication, and extract only nonsensitive or aggregated research results while leaving the sensitive data in the platform.