Join Us for Games for Health 2009--Boston, June 11-12

The 5th Annual Games for Health Conference is coming to Boston on June 11-12 with a packed lineup of speakers from game development firms, health and medical institutions, academic and research institutions and elsewhere.  The conference has grown in to the premiere event for networking, identifying new opportunities and sharing learning in this dynamic space.  This year features three game expo spaces, special tracks on both exergaming and cognitive health, and 55 sessions covering the latest in:

• exergaming
• disease and health management
• skills and workforce training
• rehabitainment
• epidemiology
• virtual worlds and health

Here's a sampling of some of the sessions and speakers - click here for a full program schedule to date and to watch a video on upcoming event highlights:

• Jacob Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab - Using Guitar Hero III to create a novel training and evaluation device for upper-extremity amputees
• Debra Lieberman, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara and Health Games Research national program - The Coming Age of Sensor-Based Health Games
• Paul Blair -- Capturing Wiimote & Accelerometer Data for Active Gaming Evaluation
• Ben Heckendorn, benheck.com - Modding and Hacking Game Hardware for Health: Ask and you might receive...
• Doris Rusch, MIT/Gambit - "Akrasia": Metaphorical Depiction of Addiction

Pre-conference workshops will also take place on June 10:  Games Accessibility Day features talks, networking and demos dedicated to making all games more accessible, and helping people with disabilities play their way to better health and wellness.  Virtual Worlds and Health Day looks more in depth at the potential of virtual worlds, which combine social systems with game-based interfaces and graphics to create entirely new spaces to train, practice and visualize. Such systems hold great promise for advancing health and health care through layering on of game play or enabling pure simulation or new forms of social interaction.

Click here to register -- a 15% registration discount is available by plugging in dmgfh09 to the registration code box.  Lodging and conference events are at Boston's Hyatt Harborside Hotel.  Please spread the word and hope to see you there!

Comments

[Mary Sweeney]

I am disappointed that I wrote to you earlier and received no reply. I am also disappointed that you seem to have no opportunity for attendance at your Expo alone. No, you will not see me there.

[Susan Promislo]

Mary - thanks for taking the time to comment on the blog. I touched base with Ben Sawyer of Games for Health and they felt that this year did not present the right opportunity to offer people an exhibits-only pass, even at a reduced price. They have given this issue serious thought, however, and are committed to offering an exhibits-only pass for next year's annual conference. I hope you'll consider participating in the conference in coming years.

Many thanks,
Susan Promislo, Communications Officer
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Portfolio