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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Health Serious Games and Virtual Worlds: New Developments and a Few Favorites

Several new and expanded health-related virtual worlds and serious games are good reminders of ongoing advances in the way that health education, information, and collaborations are being developed and promoted. Virtual worlds are extremely effective where and when collaborations and interactions are key to obtaining information or education. In contrast, serious games are widely employed to train health professionals who need to understand concepts, analyze situations and scenarios, and respond to lifelike simulations.

Knowledge-Building with Information and Health Library Resources
Veteran's Health Administration in Second Life
http://slurl.com/secondlife/depo%20business%20hub/166/169/37/
http://www1.va.gov/HEALTH/VHAinSecondLife.asp

The Veterans Health Administration has entered Second Life, the 3-D, online virtual world to provide veterans with another means of accessing important health and benefits information. VHA has leased a virtual three-story, contemporary office building in a professional office park as part of pilot project to extend their outreach efforts.

Health Info Island
Funded by the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network/National Library of Medicine (GMR NN/NLM) through a grant written by Lori Bell, of the Alliance Library System, Illinois, librarians at Healthinfo Island in Second Life explore the provision of consumer health information services in a virtual environment. The island is home to a consumer health library and a medical library, as well as virtual outposts or displays run by the National Library of Medicine's Special Information Services, contractors for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and our newest building, the Accessibility Center. This center houses another GMR NN/NLM funded projectwith the aim of encouraging awareness of vision, mobility, learning, and other disabilities.

Cigna deploys a Second Life island for health education
With the goal of making healthcare education engaging and accessible, Cigna Healthcare has created a virtual environment in the Second Life virtual world to educate people on how to improve their health.


The Cigna Virtual Healthcare Community is an “island” in Linden Lab’s Second Life world where users can walk through 3-D interactive displays with their avatars, play educational games, listen to seminars on nutrition and health, and receive virtual health consultations.The pilot will offer virtual seminars, interactive displays and educational games that encourage preventative care, improvements in healthcare behavior, as well as help to sustain these changes.



The pilot, which will be conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, is designed to encourage healthcare dialogue among users, healthcare providers and peers says Peter Mills, chief medical officer, Cigna Vielife Division. Mills emphasized that the program is "not replacing anything, but that people might find it a more preferable medium to engage in conversations about healthcare."


Health Care Serious Games

Pulse!! Virtual Clinical Learning Lab for Health Care Training
http://www.breakawaygames.com/serious-games/solutions/healthcare/pulse.html

Pulse!! is an effective immersive virtual learning space for training health care professionals in clinical skills. Graphics recreate a lifelike, interactive, virtual environment in which civilian and military heath care professionals practice clinical skills in order to better respond to injuries sustained during catastrophic incidents, such as combat or bioterrorism.

Pulse!! ws developed in partnership with Texas A & M University - Corpus Christi and funded from a federal grant from the Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research.

Free Dive: Pediatric Pain Management http://www.breakawaygames.com/serious-games/solutions/healthcare/free_dive.html

Free Dive is a virtual reality-based, 3D undersea exploration adventure that invites players to swim with sea turtles and tropical fish as they hunt for hidden treasure.

The game was designed to distract children who undergo frequent and often painful medical procedures in conjunction with the medical researchers at University of Maryland Medical Center and the non-profit foundation, Believe in Tomorrow. A study involving Free Dive demonstrated that children better withstand painful medical procedures while engaged with Free Dive.

Escape from Diab
http://www.archimageonline.com/diab.cfm

Escape from Diab is a serious videogame adventure in healthy eating and exercise. The project is a production of Archimage, Inc, in collaboration with the Children’s Nutrition Research Center of Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. Escape from Diab was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

Infection: Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space
http://www.archimageonline.com/nanoswarm.cfm

Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space is a serious videogame adventure in healthy eating and exercise. Archimage, Inc. collaborated with experts at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center of Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. The project was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

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