Nick Yee, PhD, a research scientist at the PARC (the Palo Alto Research Center) has published studies that show how people’s behaviors change when they use avatars. One study notes how players engage when offered tall, attractive avatars, versus shorter, less attractive ones. He suggests that people...

Potential for healthcare use. Back in 2010 we were introduced to the “Wii-killer,” aka the Kinect for Xbox 360.  Microsoft’s initial lineup of exergames revealed great health gaming potential. Others, such as Dr. Bill Crounse who writes for the Microsoft Health blog, speculated that...

A health game sleeper? One of the health game products I’ve been watching very closely is Zamzee. Not a whole lot has been written about this innovative new company yet, especially when one compares it to previous HopeLab products like Re-Mission. However, they have really geared up for an impressive...

Technology for movement. Myomo Inc, a developer of solutions for restoring mobility, recently issued a press release about their newest system for people with stroke and neurological impairments. The Myomo Mobility System, a comprehensive program that helps patients move their arms again, is built upon...

Health care’s most vexing problem. I have never met Dr. Joseph C. Kvedar of Partners HealthCare’s Center for Connected Health, Susannah Fox of Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, or Professor Andy Clark of Edinburgh University face to face in the real world. And yet they...

The ePatient Connections conference held in Philadelphia last month brought together advocates, professionals and speakers from various parts of the healthcare spectrum. Kevin Kruse of Kru Research began the event two years ago and it has since grown tremendously. One of the tracks during the conference...

The Daily Challenge is a social well-being experience, created by MeYou Health, that gives you the opportunity to positively impact your life every day by doing small daily challenges.  Through the Facebook platform, players get to share their experiences with their personal connections — all...

The ability to experience and react to realistic patient encounters that require quick clinical responses is crucial for doctors in training. This experience is now available with Top Doc, a new iPhone medical quiz application developed by Elsevier and video game designer Legacy Interactive. Top Doc...

While perusing Twitter the other day, I checked out a tweet from the well respected Manny Hernandez (@askmanny) who heads up the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF). The Foundation aims to improve awareness of diabetes as well as connect those at risk or already living with diabetes. Manny and the Foundation...

Games may improve health in ways you’ve not considered. We’ve always known that they’re excellent forms of relaxation, but of late, video and computer games are being tapped by the medical community as ways to improve general health, treat certain disorders, and even provide therapy and rehabilitation....