Fifth Annual Games for Health Conference to be Held in Boston June 11-12, Wii exercise discussion being held

The Games for Health Project (www.gamesforhealth.org) announces the preliminary agenda for its fifth annual conference, which will be held in Boston on June 11-12, 2009 at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel. This year’s conference will build on prior years’ successes, bringing together a diverse set of health and technology professionals in a city known for its bustling game development and health care industries to discuss how interactive video games can advance health and health care solutions. The event will include more than 40 planned sessions covering a wide range of exergaming and health games topics, including: health training, disease management and more.

The following presentations are among the 30 sessions that make up the preliminary agenda for this year’s conference:

* A Conversation with Richard S. Levine, developer of Microsurgeon: Levine, one of the original Intellivision developers, will join the conference to discuss the story behind one of the first-ever games about health, explaining both the story behind the game and the interesting stories that arose after its release.
* Senior Wii: A Study of Seniors and Wii Exercise with Dori Rosenberg: Following a six-week pilot test study of seniors using the Wii, Rosenberg shares the encouraging conclusions of his analysis and its implications for future research.
* Discussion & Best Implementation Practices for Health Application of Exergames: Led by Lisa Hansen, this session seeks to cover how and where health games are best used and methods of introduction to new populations to ensure a positive and lasting health outcome.

In addition, two special pre-conference sessions will be held simultaneously on June 10; Games Accessibility Day, focusing on the use of health games for individuals with physical disabilities, and Virtual Worlds, and Health Day, showcasing how virtual worlds are used in health games. The conference will also provide exhibition areas and opportunities for networking, all oriented towards forging game-based solutions to health and health care challenges and growing the health games industry.

“Health games are taking off this year both in the market and in the public’s consciousness,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, The Games for Health Project. “Games for Health 2009 promises to deliver more sessions then ever focusing on best practices in health game development, industry research and results for game developers and health care professionals. We are proud to know the Games for Health conference has been a catalyst for major developments within the health games industry.”

Through events such as the annual conference and extensive on-line resources, Games for Health connects the game development, research and health care communities, facilitating partnerships that will result in the development of new health game solutions. Games and game technologies that emerge from Games for Health events help individuals achieve better health outcomes, empower patients to manage chronic diseases, and hone the skills of providers to deliver better care.

The Games for Health 2009 conference will be hosted in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which has served as the leading sponsor of the Games for Health Project since 2004. The Pioneer Portfolio supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health and health care; having recognized the transformative potential of games, its support has helped Games for Health to become the leading professional community in the growing health games arena.

Humana Inc., one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, will also return as a premiere health care sponsor this year, providing support for several conference activities. Humana will present new initiatives from the Humana Games for Health (HG4H) program, which officially launched at the Games for Health conference in 2008.

Virtual Heroes of Cary, NC will also return as an evening reception sponsor.

For a full list of presentations or more information on sponsorship, pricing and lodging visit www.gamesforhealth.org.

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