Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Games for Health 2012 - Dr. Bill Crouse - Microsoft Kinect Keynote





Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving research studies. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Games For Health 2012 Pre-Conference #gfh12

There is lots going on here in Boston for the Annual Games for Health Conference. Here is a feed from all those tweeting out with the #gfh12 hastag and pictures will be uploaded soon as well. Wish you could be here, but if not, you'll get a glimpse of the many (400) people that will be attending the conference over the next 3 days!

Alec Gourley (BitGym Co-Founder) at the Games for Health 2012 in Boston June 13-14, 2012, www.bitgym.com @acgourley
Alec has a long history of athletics and a longer history of video games. When he moved to San Francisco the only regular exercise he could find involved a treadmill, and so he began investigating how to take the best elements of sports and bring it them to cardiovascular machines. Before founding Active Theory he ran Loopt's internal metrics and analytics, worked on a source-code search engine at Krugle and lead a team building an autonomous vehicle at UC Davis.

Doris Rusc from Depaul University demo's Zombie Yoga at Games for Health 2012 in Boston, MA on June 14, 2012.

Exergaming Active Gaming Track at GFH12

This week will be our biggest and best Games for Health Conference in Boston at the Hyatt Harborside. Keep your eyes and twitter feeds open right here at www.exergamelab.org for live updates, videos, and photos of the entire conference including great keynotes and presentations.

Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology. 
Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.
Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives. 
Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”. 
About Games for Health 
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference. 
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio 
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Are #exergames effective? #Exergaming criticism & infographic

I know there's been a lot of press (or at least tweets) that pile on the poor effects of exergaming to improve fitness and health outcomes but with every study its also really important to be able to dissect the strengths and weaknesses. Although the stats look to be correct, of course they were carefully selected to tell a certain story. If you look at the studies at the bottom, you will find articles that show exergaming can: illicit MVPA, lower body composition and BMI, improve executive function if given the correct conditions. It's in the Way That You Use It!

Browse more data visualizations.
Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived research studies. 

http://tweexgaminggeek.com/blog-fitness-games-wont-work/


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Does #exergame experience impact movement quantity and quality? (study)

I often wonder if previous experience in playing an #exergame impacts the overall experience and success of game play. Levac et al. also wanted to know whether motivation to succeed at the game impacted movement characteristics (quality and quantity) in children. Using force plate data while playing Wii Sports and Wii Fit #exergames, participants who had previous experience playing Wii Fit moved more than those without experience. As they also concluded, if exergames are to be used as a modality in rehab settings or as  an educational tool, its important to sequence positive learning experiences to improve game performance as well as self-efficacy.

Levac D, Pierrynowski MR, Canestraro M, Gurr L, Leonard L, & Neeley C (2010). Exploring children's movement characteristics during virtual reality video game play. [Exergame] Human movement science PMID: 20724014

Lots more news and footage will be coming out next week from the Games for Health Conference in Boston.





Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.
Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.
Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.
Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.
About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Is Wii Fit as Good as Normal MS Rehab? #Exergame Study

A total of 80 participants over a six-week #exergaming intervention (12 supervised 30-min sessions) performed as well as the traditional group on several balance tests. The effect sizes for the TUG, TUGcognitive and, the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) measures were moderate but there were statistically significant improvements for the #exergame Wii Fit group on  all measures.

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving research studies. 

I know there's been a lot of press (or at least tweets) that pile on the poor effects of exergaming to improve fitness and health outcomes but with every study its important to be able to dissect the strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the current study, although there was no significant difference between the exergaming and traditional groups, that's actually a good indicator that it was as effective and both groups saw modest gains after 6-7 weeks of treatments.

Nilsagard, Y., Forsberg, A., & von Koch, L. (2012). Balance exercise for persons with multiple sclerosis using Wii games: a randomised, controlled multi-centre study Multiple Sclerosis Journal DOI: 10.1177/1352458512450088


Lots more news and footage will be coming out next week from the Games for Health Conference in Boston.

Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.
Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.
Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.
Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.
About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Stomp the Mole: Encouraging Movement via iOS #Exergame

Using existing hardware to encourage physical activity is a smart and simple way to harness existing technology and familiar concepts . Take for example neerajjadhav87's school project that used an iOS camera (iPhone, iPod Touch) to play a "Stomp the Mole" augmented reality-type game. It's interesting because six months ago latino1990's STOMP DAH MOLE concept video basically foreshadows the newer project. I say do whatever means necessary to increase awareness and opportunities to increase physical activity and engage in the physical world.

Stomp the mole: IPhone and IPod touch exergame - YouTube:

Lots more news and footage will be coming out next week from the Games for Health Conference in Boston.


Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.

Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.

Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.


Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.


About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.


About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

Case Study of a Girls Physical Activity #Exergaming Program with Pokewalker

Congrats to Dr. Yoonsin Oh who just successfully defended her dissertation from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The title of her dissertation is A CASE STUDY OF A GIRLS’ EXERGAMING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM. The above image is from a poster from Midwestern AAHPHERD.

She will be in Boston next week at the Games for Health Conference 2012. If you see her, please congratulate her on this big step. Her twitter handle @yoonsinoh

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving research studies. 





Can Rehab with Wii Fit improve older adults' balance? #Exergaming Intervention

Dr. Abe Rendon's dissertation paper just popped up and it's focus is a 6-week randomized control trial on 40 older adults dynamic balance.Using Wii Fit as the intervention participants improved on two of the balance tests including 8-foot Up & Go test [median decrease of 1.0 versus -0.2 s, (P = 0.038) and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (6.9 versus 1.3%) (P = 0.038)]. I love this conclusion: "virtual reality gaming provides clinicians with a useful tool for improving dynamic balance and balance confidence in older adults." Well done Dr.Abe!
Rendon AA, Lohman EB, Thorpe D, Johnson EG, Medina E, & Bradley B (2012). The effect of virtual reality gaming on dynamic balance in older adults. Age and ageing PMID: 22672915

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving research studies. 

Dr.Abe's dissertation can be found here

Lots more research and applications at the upcoming Games for Health Conference in Boston.


Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.

Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.

Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.


Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.


About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.


About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Can You Learn to Surf Without Water? Try the iSurf Simulator #Exergame



i-Surfsimulators – who have been making surfing simulations since 1992 in Hawaii – announced the launch of a portable event exergame system that provides virtual “waterless” surfing, including two-player-on-screen interactive games. iSurf Simulators: Surf's Up!

Exergaming Points to Ponder (ExP2P)
  • I think any game is more immersive given the right conditions and environment. Take for example the authentic board to play on increases the realism. The larger screen or projector gives you a more visually appealing interface. And realistic and loud ambient sounds and feedback to provide knowledge of results and performance. These factors combined with the gameplay elements greatly impact user experience (UX) and thus the likelihood that it might be repeated in the future.
i-Surfsimulators Official Website

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving simulators.


The 8th Annual Games for Health Conference in Boston, MA at the Hyatt Harboside Hotel is June 12-14 -- under one month away!
Register today at: http://www.regonline.com/gbew2012



Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.

Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.

Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.


Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.


About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.


About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Wii Fit U (E3): Will U Get Fitter Exergaming?

At E3, Nintendo has been busy with their unveiling of the Wii U console, GamePad and Controller. To get the #exergaming genre going, this demo video of Wii Fit U show how the GamePad will sometimes display the virtual trainer while the on-screen action shows the background scenery (See EP2P #1). As with many other exergames in this fitness video game niche, calorie tracking is again a big part of the feedback players/exercisers receive (See EP2P #2). Having to stand to play Wii Fit U on the GamePad forces the head and neck into hyper-flexion (See pics below and EP2P #3),

 
 
 

Exergaming Points to Ponder (EP2P)

  1. I suppose it only really works for slower types of exercises and stretches as it would be too hard to always have to look down.
  2. How accurate are the formulas Nintendo is using in the software, and is it the same across titles and game studios?
  3. Free from TV but not from neck hyper-flexion if held for prolonged periods of time. I wonder also how looking down while standing on the Balance Board will mess with your vesitbular balance especially those with balance issues, patients recovering from stroke, etc.

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving virtual trainers
Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's coverage of E3.

Pics via cnet.com

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Wii U Your Shape Fitness #Exergaming Evolved 2013 (E3)


Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013, unveiled in parts at E3 will allow players (exercisers) to create a personalized fitness program lasting up to four weeks, where you choose workout frequency and tailor it to your current fitness level and preferences. It will have 125 different workouts and 215 moves, although I'm not sure how many the previous versions had. Players can also connect online with friends to compete and collaborate their way to fitness. Notice the integration of Wii U GamePad where you get to call up game options and network with your online exergame workout partners.
Exergaming Points To Ponder (P2P)

  • Will the GamePad provide assistance or tutorials on how to perform the movment or play the game as @DDRDiva mentioned, and as featured in the Wii Fit U (also revealed at E3)
  • "Sarak aime ton status" is French for Sarah likes your status so there's the obvious social networking feature being incorporated. I'm not sure if the current network that boasts a pretty big user base has this feature.
  • I like the jump in feature where a player can join the action without having to re-start the game.
  • I also like how the calories you burned appears (and the people in your challenge) on screen - but does calories burned equal the points you earned in-game?



Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving virtual trainers.

Monday, June 4, 2012

FigureRunning Mobile #Exergame: World Canvas


I just head that FigureRunning will be presenting at GHF 2012 on their mobile #exergame. It's a neat game that allows runners to make art while running. I love their tag line "Using a person's GPS, the world is your canvas and you are the pencil."
FigureRunning is a new sport that encourages you to get creative, go outside and discover new places while running and getting fit.
I just downloaded it so once I give it a whirl I'll post my thoughts.

Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving mobile exergames.

The 8th Annual Games for Health Conference in Boston, MA at the Hyatt Harboside Hotel is June 12-14 -- under one month away!
Register today at: http://www.regonline.com/gbew2012



Additional Games for Health Keynotes!
Constance Steinkuehler Squire, senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will discuss the opportunities for videogames to address national challenges, including those in health, health care, and biotechnology.

Bill Crounse, MD, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft, will present “Connecting & Kinecting Health and Health Care,” which will explore how Microsoft and its partners are merging its information and game technologies to create global solutions for personal health and professional health care.

Jane McGonigal, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of SuperBetter Labs, will highlight the design and release of SuperBetter, a game-based social application designed to help people boost personal resilience and lead healthier, longer, and more positive lives.


Jay Walker, curator and chairman of TEDMED, a global community of people who passionately believe that the future of health and medicine is here, will provide the end-of-conference special guest keynote: “Gaming the System”.


About Games for Health
Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports the development of the health games community, champions efforts to mainstream health games, and brings together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health, health care, and policy. The Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a major supporter of both the Games for Health Project and its annual Games for Health Conference.


About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its Pioneer Portfolio
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the United States. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. Projects in the Pioneer Portfolio are future-oriented and look beyond conventional thinking to explore solutions at the cutting edge of health and healthcare. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/pioneer.

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E3 #Exergaming Nike + Kinect Training

At E3, Nike just announced how Nike + Kinect Training will be be using Xbox Live and Kinect to further engage all athletes for evolved #exergaming. In addition to Nike Fuel, they will add reminders and periodic fitness assessments coupled with networking and challenges to help Every body to be an athlete! Sounds more like interventions, fitness training, and medical advice...although all package disclaimers and notices say otherwise.
Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving virtual trainers.
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E3 Predictions for #exergames: Will Kinect Fit Play Be a Game Changer?


  • Will Kinect Fit Play & Joule shake up the health and fitness industry?
  • Will Kinect Fit Play & Joule be part of the solution to data gathering for health assessments in schools and practices?
  • What will Joule  look like with heart-rate displayed on screen?
  • I'm also interested in seeing the fitness data tracking feature as that is such an important areas for wellness and healthcare.
  • How will the data be transfered across titles?
  • Will there be integration with MS Health Vault to allow data to be transferred to physicians, HMO's, schools?
  • Will the Joule device be compatible with Windows Phone platforms to gather data while away from the console? Will it have its own memory to store data until the next time its in range with a device/port?


Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving virtual trainers
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