234 Int. J. Computer Applications in Technology, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2010 Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Applying a service-oriented approach for developing a distributed multi-agent system for healthcare Dante I. Tapia*, Juan Francisco De Paz, Sara Rodríguez, Cristian Pinzón, Rosa Cano, Javier Bajo and Juan M. Corchado Departamento de Informática y Automática, Universidad de Salamanca, Plaza de la Merced s/n, 37008, Salamanca, Spain E-mail: dantetapia@usal.es E-mail: fcofds@usal.es E-mail: srg@usal.es E-mail: cristian_ivanp@usal.es E-mail: rcano@usal.es E-mail: jbajope@usal.es E-mail: corchado@usal.es *Corresponding author Abstract: This paper presents a service-oriented architecture that allows a more efficient distribution of resources and functionalities. The architecture has been used to develop a multi-agent system aimed at enhancing the assistance and healthcare for Alzheimer patients living in geriatric residences. Most of the system functionalities have been modelled as independent and distributed services, including reasoning, planning and security mechanisms. The results obtained after testing the architecture in a real healthcare scenario demonstrate that a service-oriented approach is far more robust and has better performance than a centralised one. Keywords: multi-agent systems; service-oriented architectures; case-based reasoning; case-based planning; healthcare; security. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Tapia, D.I., De Paz, J.F., Rodríguez, S., Pinzón, C., Cano, R., Bajo, J. and Corchado, J.M. (2010) ‘Applying a service-oriented approach for developing a distributed multi-agent system for healthcare’, Int. J. Computer Applications in Technology, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp.234–244. Biographical notes: Dante I. Tapia received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca (Spain) in 2009. He obtained the Engineering degree in Computer Sciences in 2001 and the MSc in Telematics from the University of Colima (Mexico) in 2004. He has collaborated with the Government of the State of Colima (Mexico), where he obtained a scholarship to complete his academic formation. He has been involved in several R&D projects. He has been a member of the organising and scientific committee of several international symposiums. He has also been co-author of papers published in recognised journals, workshops and symposiums. Juan Francisco De Paz is a PhD student at the University of Salamanca. He obtained a research scholarship from the Science and Education Ministry, and is involved in several R&D projects. He obtained the Engineering degree in Informatics in 2005 and the Statistics Diploma in 2007 from the University of Salamanca. He has been a member of the organising and scientific committee of several international symposiums. He has also been co-author of papers published in recognised journals, workshops and symposiums. Sara Rodríguez is a PhD student at the University of Salamanca. She obtained the Engineering degree in Informatics from the University of Salamanca in 2007. She has been a member of the organising and scientific committee of several international symposiums. She has also been co-author of papers published in recognised journals, workshops and symposiums. Cristian Pinzón is a PhD student at the University of Salamanca. He obtained a research scholarship from the National Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT- Panama) to complete his academic formation. He obtained the Bachelor degree in Informatics from the Technological University of Panama (Panama) in 2003. He obtained a Master in Intelligent Systems from the University of Salamanca in 2007. He has been co-author of papers published in recognised journals, workshops and symposiums.