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How Body Sensors Are Gaming the Health System

By: Kate RockwoodWed Jul 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM

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Marientina Gotsis, Media Lab Manager USC School of Cinematic Arts | Photograph by Williams + Hirakawa



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Marientina Gotsis
Media Lab Manager
USC School of Cinematic Arts
Los Angeles, California

Gaming the System

Marientina Gotsis, 31, teaches "Games for Health" at USC, and with a grant from Health Games Research, she and her partner, Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, designed a social online game called Wellness Partners, which awards virtual "energy points" for real-world physical activity.

"It doesn't make sense that your Wii Fit data shouldn't be consolidated into the same system that, let's say, your doctor uses for tracking your health. Narrative and stories are what sustain our interest. We want to be inspired and entertained. Right now, there are practically no interesting applications out there that let you use your personal sensor data or health records to have a fun gaming experience. That's going to change. Once you've figured out how to consolidate and share sensor data, you open the door to competition, which brings us to the possibility of entertainment."

Topics:

Innovation, Technology, Magazine, social networking, online gaming, healthcare, Games for Health, Wii Fit, Wellness Partners, USC, School of Cinematic Arts, Wii Fit, Marientina Gotsis Media Lab Manager USC School of Cinematic Arts Los Angeles, California, Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, Wellness Partners

From Issue 137 | July 2009

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Recent Comments | 3 Total

July 2, 2009 at 1:55pm by Brooke Spilberg

Fast Company has done it again for me! Great new technology to work with your digital health files. Connecting Wii fitness games to your health records. I'm excited about the new digital health records. Many San Francisco companies are taking the lead here. Love my city!

November 2, 2009 at 1:51pm by Tonda Kala

Thats an interesting idea. Wii Fit data are relevant and easy to measure, i can really imagine to track my health status with them...