Games For Health to have second conference

Serious Games Initiative is producing its second annual Games For Health conference this September to provide developers, researchers and health-care experts a chance to examine how to bring gaming and health-care together.

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the conference features roundtables, panel discussions and a demo exposition for forthcoming projects regarding how game technology can be applied in health-care.

"Last year we showed the world there is exciting work being done to apply the motivational, educational, and graphical power of videogames to improving public health. This meeting gives us the opportunity to look at how far things have come in only a year. Some of the next-generation projects will be exciting in terms of their potential to change how patients and healthcare professionals practice healthcare," said Ben Sawyer co-director of the Games for Health Project.

Chinwe Onyekere, program associate for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation added: "Games for Health demonstrates how we can tap into an emerging medium, like videogames, to explore creative new approaches to addressing complex health and health care challenges. The Foundation is proud to support this initiative through its Pioneer Portfolio, which is dedicated to supporting innovative projects like this that could lead to major breakthroughs in improving health and health-care."

A keynote speaker for the Games For Health conference has yet to determined, but the event will play host to a number of gaming industry developers, including Eric Johnston of LucasArts, who will be discussing the creation of an edutainment game called Ben's Game, which was created in association with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for leukaemia patient, Ben Duskin.

For more information on the conference, being held in Baltimore, Maryland, during September 22nd and 23rd, an official site is available.