Autism & exergaming study!

9-16-11: Just came across this study on autism and exergaming. Good stuff! Check it out:

http://www.dovepress.com/autism-and-exergaming-effects-on-repetitive-behaviors-and-cognition-peer-reviewed-article-PRBM

Makoto on ESPN!

9-16-11: Just rec'd the following from a friend...be sure not to miss one of our leading exergaming companies on ESPN!!!!
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The new Makoto Arena II is being features on the ESPN Show "Rise UP" on October 4th at 7PM EDT!

Tune in to see how Makoto helped to transform this inner-city Chicago High school and bring a re-energized sense of excitement and enthusiasm to their athletic program.
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I had the pleasure of checking the Arena II out just before they started shipping last Nov. on a tour of the Makoto facilities with Marian and Dave. Let's just say they had to clean up the drool from their test unit after I left! LOL!

Kudos to Marian and Dave for getting on ESPN! Hopefully someday, the NAGL Finals will be showcased there. (Put in a good word for us, Dave or Marian!).

Video games hot in healthcare!

9-8-11: Taken from Mobihealth....good stuff! Ernie

Video games are hot in healthcare right now
Posted By Neil Versel On September 8, 2011

A fringe topic not too long ago, the subject gained a sense of legitimacy in July, when publisher Mary Ann Liebert Inc. introduced a new journal called Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications. The first issue is due out this fall.

That’s right, there’s now a peer-reviewed, scientific journal specifically examining the role video games can play in advancing individual and population health, the healthcare industry and personal wellness. And this week, Liebert announced a companion newsletter called Games for Health Industry Insider, which starts publication on Sept. 29. I can see both titles being good resources for MobiHealthNews.

If you think this is an anomaly or a journal that’s ahead of its time, may I remind you that the Journal of the American Medical Association published a paper earlier this year that said video games deserve “serious attention” in healthcare.

Adding further weight to the notion that gaming can be an important part of healthcare, the University of Missouri just released news about a study underway at the school that incorporates Microsoft Kinect motion-sensing technology to help prevent falls and spot other potential health problems in seniors. A related study uses motion sensors from widely available security systems.

Researchers from Mizzou’s Sinclair School of Nursing and School of Engineering installed Kinect for Xbox 360 in a Columbia, Mo., nursing home and gave wearable sensors to residents to help measure changes in gait, a key indicator of the likelihood of falls. Additional sensors on beds were used to detect changes in sleeping patterns. Alerts get sent to nursing staff when there is a change that might signify a health issue.

“The potential that we’ve learned for early illness detection could revolutionize what’s happening in the way that we diagnose problems of older adults. We know from the research that we can pick things up 10 days to two weeks before critical health-change events happen,” nursing professor Marilyn Rantz said in a video released by the university.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Microsoft itself joined in. On the Microsoft HealthBlog, Dr. Bill Crounse, the Redmond Empire’s senior director for worldwide health, promoted the latest episode of Microsoft Health Tech Today, the company’s online talk show about how the company’s technology is advancing healthcare.

The subject of the newest video? Kinect.

Gaming in health—particularly mobile gaming—also is the subject of a forthcoming MobiHealthNews report. If you recall, Dr. Leslie Saxon, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Center for Body Computing, said last month that she’d like to take a mobile gaming app like Angry Birds and “diabetize it.”

Yes, we’re hearing a lot lately about gaming in health and healthcare. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Ever since Nintendo debuted the Wii Fit as a fitness tool in 2008, gaming for health has started to break out of a niche and become mainstream. It seems as if we’re now reaching critical mass.

Article taken from mobihealthnews - http://mobihealthnews.comURL to article: http://mobihealthnews.com/13078/health-gaming-reaches-critical-mass/

New peer-reviewed games for health journal!!!

7-13-11: just rec'd this in my e-mail! Check it out http://tinyurl.com/G4HJournal and be sure to subscribe!!!

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Contact: Vicki Cohn Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (914) 740-2100, ext. 2156 vcohn@liebertpub.com

Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications; A Groundbreaking New Journal on the Applications of Digital Games to Human Health New Rochelle, NY, July 13, 2011–Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. announces the launch of Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications (G4H), a new, peer-reviewed journal dedicate to the development, use, and applications of game technology for improving physical and mental health and well-being. The Journal breaks new ground as the first to address this emerging, widely-recognized, and increasingly adopted area of healthcare. Published bi-monthly, Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications will be released in fall 2011. Games are rapidly becoming an important tool for improving health behaviors ranging from healthy lifestyle habits and behavior modification to self-management of illnesses and chronic conditions to motivating and supporting physical activity. Commonly used applications include mobile phone-delivered games that track daily exercise and “exergames” that require physical exertion in order to play (e.g., on platforms such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Move, and Xbox Kinect). Games are also increasingly used to train healthcare professionals in methods for diagnosis, medical procedures, patient monitoring, as well as for responding to epidemics and natural disasters. Billions of dollars and immeasurable hours of research and development are being invested in developing and employing sophisticated software and technologies that deliver tailored, personalized game-based healthcare interventions. Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications will provide a print and online forum for peer-reviewed research articles, new system and game reviews, field news and reports, convention and event announcements, book reviews, and point-counterpoint discussions to support professionals in the field. “This research journal will be an authoritative and influential resource for decision makers who purchase, use, prescribe, recommend, design, publish, fund, or invest in digital games for health, and it will serve our research field and its related academic disciplines in many valuable ways,” according to Debra Lieberman, PhD, Director of the Health Games Research national program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “The Journal will be a starting point for anyone interested in the research and design of health games that integrate well-tested, evdence-based behavioral health strategies to help improve health behaviors and to support the delivery of care.” Forthcoming articles for early issues of Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications include research on the effectiveness and design strategies of: Games intended to develop the social skills of people with conditions such as autism Exergames aimed at motivating more activity in physical education classes An alternate realty game designed to increase physical activity Exergames for young adults and families Games to help treat eating disorders and habits such as smoking Games to improve cognitive function in older adults The use of simulations to help develop the interpersonal skills of family members of veterans suffering from PTSD “The benefits of games for health—from autism to Alzheimer’s to heart disease and other illnesses and conditions—are demonstrating significant promise for improving the way people manage their health and for the delivery of care both in and out of the hospital setting,” said Mary Ann Liebert, president and CEO of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. “Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications is a critical and much-needed forum for this evolving area of healthcare.” The new journal is under the editorial leadership of Bill Ferguson, PhD with expert input from a diverse editorial board which includes researchers: Debra Lieberman, PhD (University of California, Santa Barbara); Tom Baranowski, PhD (Baylor School of Medicine); Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD (University of Pennsylvania); Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD (University of California, San Francisco); Peter Bingham, MD (University of Vermont); Barbara Chamberlin, PhD (New Mexico State University); Wei Peng, PhD (Michigan State University); Sam Yohannan PT, MS, (Cornell Medical Center); and many other leaders from the research community. Industry, technology, and other experts on the Editorial Board include Jim Bower, PhD (Whyville), Ron Goldman (Kognito) Benjamin Heckendorn (The Ben Heck Show), Ernie Medina, Dr. P.H. (MedPlay Technologies), Ketan Paranjape BS, MS, MBA (Intel Corporation), Russell Shilling, PhD, Capt. USN (DARPA); and Eric Zuckerman, DO (Pediatric IBD Foundation). Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking; Telemedicine and e-Health; and Population Health Management. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at our website. This email was sent by: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New Rochelle, NY, 10801-5215, USA

Interactive tools boost fitness

Thx to Steven Yang for posting on our TEN blog! Here's the article of an interview I did. You can read the full article here.

Latest CA PE report

Rec'd this from a colleague over at San Bernardino County Public Health, Pam Sampson!
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Good afternoon Fit 2Gether partners and LIAs,

Last one for the day. Thought you may be interested in the Health Policy Brief from UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. See summary below, and the policy brief attached or visit, http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/files/adolescentpepb.pdf. …Pam

FYI: CA recommends 200 minutes/every 10 days for elementary and 400 minutes/every 10 days for middle & high school, but NASPE recommends 150 minutes/week plus one 20 minute recess/day for elementary and 225 minutes/week for middle & high school.

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May 2011

Adolescent Physical Education and Physical Activity in California

Allison L. Diamant, Susan H. Babey and Joelle Wolstein

S UMMA R Y: In California, more than 1.3 million adolescents (38%) do not participate in physical education (PE) at school, and this rate increases dramatically with age, from just 5% at age 12 to 77% at age 17. In addition, only 19% of teens meet current physical activity recommendations. Participation in PE at school is associated with more overall physical activity. Policies that promote more opportunities for physical activity, including those that help schools meet or exceed current PE requirements, can contribute to greater levels of physical activity for adolescents.

Welcome to this new blog!

5-30-11: Greetings! This is a new, sister blog to my Exergaming Evangelist blog. This blog will focus on INTERVENTIONS using exergames, how exergames are used in the clinical setting, whereas the my other Exergaming Evangelist blog will focus on anything exergaming-related.

Hope you enjoy this new focus!

Ernie Medina, Jr., DrPH, CHFS