DAN Europe Foundation is a not-for-profit international medical and research organization  dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers that provides emergency  medical advice and assistance for underwater diving injuries worldwide. DAN Europe also  promotes diving safety through Research, Education, Products and Services.  

Since its foundation in 1983 DAN Europe’s primary mission is that of operating and  maintaining an international network of 24/7 diving medicine alarm centers, guaranteeing specialized assistance to any diver, in the event of an emergency anywhere in the world.  

In several European Countries the DAN Alarm Center is contacted as a specialized resource  in case of diving related accidents by the national emergency medical services, and, in Italy,  the DAN Alarm Center also serves as “second level” reference for Diving Injuries for the 112  EMS, similarly to what happens with “poison centers”. 

DAN also provides non-emergency diving medical advice, carries out research in diving  safety and medicine, organizes courses and seminars with the aim of increasing the  knowledge and sense of responsibility of recreational divers and provides financial and  technical assistance to hyperbaric treatment centers in, but not limited to, developing countries. DAN is one of the world leaders in medical and scientific research on diving safety.  

Since 1993, DAN Europe has also been conducting numerous research projects on the  medicine and physiology of diving. The results obtained by DAN researchers have become  a point of reference for the international diving medicine community.  

In 2011 DAN Europe has been officially recognized as a Research Institution by the Italian  Government (MIUR – Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca) and, as a  consequence, by the European Union.  

As such DAN has very actively participated in EU funded research projects, joining two big  projects (Phypode and CADDY) under the FP7 grant program, a project (GreenBubbles)  under the H2020-MSCA-RISE grant program, plus several other ongoing projects about  Safety and Medicine for Scientific Diving .  

DAN is also active in other areas that could well develop into possible joint projects, such as  international conferences, conventions and academic courses aimed at the recreational,  scientific and commercial diving community, with specific regard to medical, safety and  educational aspects.

Related educational activities also include programs regarding Hazard Identification, Risk  Assessment and Risk Mitigation aimed at the Diving Industry, focusing on aspects related  to – and possible requirement for – National as well as ISO certification.  

DAN Training courses are developed by qualified Medical / Educational Specialists. Some  of the courses are specifically developed for divers or life guards, while others are aimed at  a wider audience.  

DAN aims to provide education not merely to obtain a certification card, but to achieve better  knowledge and confidence; to further improve this, DAN has signed multiple Academic  Collaboration Agreements with a number of universities and research institutions worldwide,  including, but not limited to, the Ancona Polytechnic University in Italy, the Medical  University of Gdansk in Poland, the Istanbul Galatasaray University and the Antalya Hakeniz  University in Turkey, the North West University in South Africa, and last but not least, the St.  Petersburg University Medical College and the National Hydrological Institute in Russia. 

One of the main scopes of DAN’s current Research is the development of scientific and  technical methodologies to assure active, real-time monitoring of the immersed Diver’s  physiological parameters, allowing for constant contact and bidirectional communication  with the Diver, also assuring continuous geolocation, transmission of the Diver’s position  and vital parameters to an Artificial-Intelligence-Operated Control Center (AIOCC) able to  identify potential danger and need for assistance, activate rescue operations and at the same time assure data collection for epidemiological as well as physiological or medical  studies. This is done in the frame of the current DAN Europe AVATAR Project ( Advanced  Virtually Assisted Telemedicine in Adverse Remoteness), that also foresees applications  not only limited to the diving environment but extending to any kind of hostile or remote  condition / environment.  

DAN has also started an unprecedented, and so far unique worldwide, Bachelor of Science  Degree in “Diving Safety Management” with the Malta Ministries of Education and Tourism,  as part of the International School of Diving Safety and Medicine, a joint and co-directed  Academic Education Program at the Malta National Institute of Tourism Studies.