Dr. Maged Kamel Boulos, the journal’s Associate Editor and professor at the University of Plymouth, UK, summarizes the issue:

Though Second Life has existed since 2002 and there are even other virtual worlds that predate it, most in the health sector are only recently starting to migrate to such platforms, as the technology is gradually maturating and rapidly becoming more affordable and popular. This special issue of JVWR on the theme of ‘3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare’ provides a good sampler of how healthcare organizations, groups and individuals are currently using virtual worlds…for a range of clinical and health-related purposes. Topics covered in this issue include: the use of virtual worlds in healthcare higher education, including in ‘virtual patients’ game-based learning simulations, with examples from both the UK and the US; the growth and direction of healthcare support groups in virtual worlds; the development of a virtual worlds’ coping skills game to prevent post-hospitalization smoking relapse in tobacco dependent cancer patients; and an examination of how the attitude and appearance of an individual’s avatar might result in positive changes in her/his real life in relation to obesity, which is one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century.

Though I’m delighted to see so much work being done within academia, I am most excited to see the transition from research to real life application in a field that will surely witness exponential growth in the next several years. It cannot be long until we hear an announcement of a well-funded professional venture that tackles one or more specific healthcare issues using virtual world and other emerging technologies. At a time when our nation is facing a healthcare problem of gargantuan proportions, we need to turn to innovative technologies that can streamline medical care and shed billions of dollars in costs. However, beyond electronic medical records, there hasn’t been much discussion in the mainstream media about emerging healthcare technologies nor any serious and dedicated provisions in Obama’s proposal. The challenge of bridging the gap between cutting-edge academic findings and real-life social policies is one that spans every field, yet if we don’t figure out innovative and cost-effective solutions soon, healthcare costs will become the straw that finally breaks America’s back.

Readers interested in this topic who might have missed it previously, check out Popcha! principal and TurtleThink founder Mark Kizelshteyn’s award-winning research regarding therapeutic uses of virtual worlds for elderly, disabled, and convalescent people [link]. Needless to say we are all very excited for advancements in this field!

[JVWR Vol 2, No 2: 3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare]
image courtesy of TaranRampersad

This seems to be a different means to a similar end with Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, where users can control the computer with their thoughts — but I have not heard much about this recently. Check out this article for some info on this. Obviously, both platforms can be developed (and will be) — there are different technological manifestations of hands free use, where we can see a disabled person using the BCI interface for navigation, while a fully-able person can use a gesture reading interface for a Virtual Immersion Room…

The title of this post is taken directly from Rackspace executive Lew Moorman who offers this interesting perspective.

Until reading Lew’s post, I have not been particularly cognizant of my search behaviors changing. But they are. Similar to Lew, just a short while ago I was giving Google nearly a 100% of my queries. But now, Twitter is taking a share and it’s regularly increasing. And the results tend to not only be more relevant, but a bit more interesting.

As of now, this search method is in the minority (in the non tech-community) because Twitter use has not attained the ubiquity of Google, but there is a macro lesson to draw here: Human Powered Search .

Lew sums this up well: “Twitter is building a human powered search indexing engine. It is an engine that will build better results than any rules based index and has gotten millions of people super motivated to contribute for free every day (even though they don’t know it).

If you are a Twitter user you will quickly see this in action. The most common tweet is a link and some small insight. The value of this link and the insight (which is great context) is instantly voted on. Do people respond? Do people retweet? If so, relevance is very high. If not, well, it does not matter much.

The system of followers is a market based system that guarantees integrity. If you simply use twitter to sell your agenda, it won’t be long until you have no followers. You become noise – that no one hears. All this is data that can be harnessed to create a search system around any topic. ”

This is the web in real time.

Concretely, what does this mean? Well, for example, if you search on Google about Amazon’s recent release of the new Kindle, you will get numerous links about the release of the product — a bunch of SEOed responses. If you go to Twitter and search, it will reveal a lively discussion of the product with immediate product information, feedback, retailers et cetera. The KEY is that all of the relevant content will forge to the front (due to ReTweats) and the rest will fade away. With Google, this type of info will not get indexed for hours and you have to look hard for it.

This information variance exists across all possible queries: News, Shopping, Trends et cetera. Twitter has the opinions of millions of people on what really matters in real time. Google is not going anywhere and probably will not go anywhere anytime soon, but we will unquestionably see a change in the search methodology and the monetizing model. Google is not gonna miss the boat, but Twitter is sailing quickly.

[via LewMoorman, ZDnet]

As reported by Engadget, Scheduled for an April Launch, the product is to facilitate communication between users and health “agents” to provide health guidance. The service is said to be compatible with Wii Fit and the balance board as well as NEC’s mobile health platform.

Slashdot reports “this service will will be introduced by Panasonic Medical Solutions to health care workers with its Plissimo Sigusa health care plan. What’s more, Panasonic Medical Solutions is offering the program to the country’s health insurance union.”

We are seeing the age of self-directed health care take hold and deeply intertwine itself with technology. The deep knowledge available to patients over the internet and the resulting discussion of health care topics offers user a more comprehensive look into their health then just a simple visit to a physician. More and more people are being given the tools to be in more control over their care and thus be conscious of preventive medicine. Products such as Wii Check Up are in their conceptual infancy. As these products evolve they will allow users to see the impact of day to day activities on projected health goals.

For example, one will enter certain weight and exercise goals into your Wii interface. As you work towards these goals, they will interface (hopefully voluntarily, but that is a different discussion) with your EHR (Electronic Health Records) which will give you a real time look of the ongoing impact of these goals on your detailed medical issues (blood, cholesterol, hypertension et cetera). In turn, your doctor will be able to interface back with your Wii or other tech unit giving your real time feedback and advice. Reality, Fantasy or scary? As larger institutions (such as health care facilities, insurance and pharmaceutical companies) move towards embracing this multi-avenue technology we will see the development of intricate health feedback systems. Unsure how this will develop, but we shall see. What do you think?

[Via: Engadget, Slashdot]

Please feel free to get in touch with Boris (boris [at] popcha dot com) or myself (mark [at] popcha dot com) to discuss virtual health care initiatives.

Thank you again!

****************************

Greetings TurtleThink Readers!

My name is Mark Kizelshteyn (Chronos Laval) and am founder of TurtleThink.com.

I am pleased to announce the publication of my article, Therapy and The Metaverse: Second Life and The Changing Conditions of Therapy For Convalescent and Chronically Ill Users, in Washington University’s Undergraduate Research Digest. Click here for a free copy.

To mark the occasion, on January 22nd at 1 – 2 SLT (PST), I will be doing a brief talk in Second Life on some of the major themes that were illuminated during the research process. And most of all, I would like to meet those of you I don’t know, answer your questions and start a long term dialogue about the immense opportunities in the therapeutic applications of virtual worlds.

The event will be kicked off by John Lester (Pathfinder Linden), who has been working tirelessly with Linden Labs to promote the healthcare applications of Second Life. This event will be hosted by Popcha! at their headquarters. (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Popcha/180/238/32)

Please RSVP by replying to mark @ popcha dot com. Optionally, let us know who you are and what you are up to.

Paper Launch: Therapy and The Metaverse: Second Life and The Changing Conditions of Therapy For Convalescent and Chronically Ill Users.
When: Thursday, January 22, 1 – 2 P.M. SLT
Where: Popcha HQ Sim
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Popcha/180/238/32
Link to Article: Click Here

In the summer of 2007, I began to investigate therapeutic initiatives in Second Life. To my surprise, the virtual world was alive with organic support groups and unique therapeutic opportunities. I was instantly drawn to explore these communities and why so many users flocked to receive support in this unconventional space.

I spent a year investigating these sites and subsequently wrote my honors thesis titled Therapy and The Metaverse: Second Life and The Changing Conditions of Therapy For Convalescent and Chronically Ill Users.

The journey was moving and opened my eyes to the needs of so many under served in our world. Based on my research, I am confident that virtual worlds will provide an improved quality of life for generations of disabled, convalescent and chronically ill users through use of a conventional PC.

A professionally edited article based on the thesis was published this month in Washington University Undergraduate Research Digest.

Click Here to download a free copy of the article Therapy and Metaverse.

Abstract:
This study examines the therapeutic utility of 3D Massively Multi-User Virtual Environments (MMVE’s), specifically Second Life, for convalescent and chronically ill users. Three major therapy related simulations within Second Life are examined: Dreams, a space for people with autism and neurological conditions; the Heron Sanctuary, a disability haven; and Wheelies, a disability themed nightclub. Since this is an abridged version of my study, only one of the five case studies will be examined as a representative account of virtual therapy. Two main results surfaced through examining the three spaces and their users: a new form of complimentary therapy and a relationship between ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ well-being has been established. The first point explores how virtual worlds provide therapy forms outside of traditional and formalized setting with a medical professional or facilitator. The second point considers how virtual activities and therapies intersect with ‘real’ physical and emotional reactions. This research sheds light on a new frontier of therapeutic activities that facilitate a psychological and physical rehabilitative process through the social virtual environment Second Life.

To see the full journal, Click Here.

The paper also has an insightful discussion section looking at the relationship between the incubation of virtual worlds and how it parallels that of the web in the 1990s.

Read the paper here.

I would also like to draw your attention to a quote in the research regarding the versatile nature of collaboration in Virtual Worlds. This quote brings up the term “emotional bandwidth,” which I believe to be one of the mantras of the future of virtual worlds technology and health care.

“Because the full-colour, multifaceted nature of the experience offers so much more “emotional bandwidth” than traditional Web sites, e-mail lists and discussion groups, users say the experience can feel astonishingly real. Participants develop close relationships and share intimate details even while, paradoxically, remaining anonymous. Some say they open up in ways they never would in face-to-face encounters in real support groups, therapy sessions, or even with family and close friends in their true lives.”

When you're smiling...the whole world smiles with you

Working off this study they also explored 1700 college students and their connections on Facebook. In addition to verifying that happy people tend to have more friends, more interestingly they found that happiness is contagious; when visualized you can actually see clusters of “happy nodes.” They conclude that emotions are a deeply collective phenomena.

Edge: Social Networks and Happiness

The group of researchers…said about 100 million images can be read, adding that dreams as well as mental images are likely to be visualized in the future in the same manner.

The research will be published Thursday in the U.S. scientific journal Neuron.”

Wow.

Full article at Daily Yoimuri Online via Slashdot

Through these types of innovations, we are definitely saving time; however, are doctors less attentive? CME is meant to keep our medical professionals abreast, but are they remaining as aware? Are we valuing efficiency over vigilance?

(img from ReachMD)

Via Pfayn (Thanks!)