International Thought Leaders Share Insights for the Future of Digital Health At 10th Annual USC Global Body Computing Conference

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As one of the pioneer centers in academically-based digital health solutions, the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC), part of Keck Medicine of USC, continues to focus on the future by gathering digital health thought leaders from diverse backgrounds for its 10^th Annual USC Global Body Computing Conference to be held Friday, September 23 on the USC main campus. (Guests can register at: uscbodycomputing.org).

"For the past decade the USC CBC conference has led a vital conversation on the solutions, trends, research, issues, policies and programs that offer an essential tutorial on the current state and future of global digital health," said Michael Quick, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "It is also a glimpse into the unique collaborations that only USC can provide – combining talent and expertise across our university in medicine, technology, engineering, athletics, cinematic arts and more."

The one-day summit offers a 360-degree perspective on the evolving convergence of health and technology drawing an intimate 250-guest capacity crowd to hear speakers from the FDA, IBM Watson, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, NBA, Nokia Technologies, IEEE Standards Association, U.S. Department of Defense, Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), VSP Global and Walgreen's who join key digital health start-ups, venture capitalists, media,  experts across USC and the best medical minds at Keck Medicine of USC. Click here for full list of speakers.

The USC CBC will highlight its innovation projects in immersive patient experiences using virtual reality (VR) with the finalized smartphone app for its Virtual Care Clinic. The USC CBC will also announce the creation of the Digital Health Access Initiative (DHAI).  This program will provide smartphones/data plans to the underserved so they may also access digital healthcare through the Virtual Care Clinic.  This reinforces the USC CBC mission to use technology to provide healthcare to all who need it, and since the underserved access a disproportionately large portion of traditional healthcare services, this Initiative is designed to help bring down system-wide healthcare costs.  The Conference will also feature the winning presentation from its 2^nd Annual VR Hackathon competition, "Medical Empathy Machine" and conference guests will learn about the newly created USC Elite Athletic and Military Performance Center, a collaboration between the USC CBC and USC Institute of Creative Technologies to address how the health and readiness of players and warfighters are being enhanced through digital health programs.

In addition to never-before-seen demonstrations, the USC CBC conference also offers provocative debate among government health officers, digital health innovation executives and medical ethics experts on the policies and regulations shaping the future of digital health. On the financial and marketing front, leading venture capitalists and futurists share their insights on digital health market trends and marketing imperatives.

"We believe digital technology is not just disrupting health care but transforming it," said Leslie Saxon, MD, founder and executive director of the USC Center for Body Computing. "At the USC CBC we have envisioneered a digital health ecosystem and I'm proud of the partners who help us offer a more patient-centered contextualized health experience while we bring the academic environment and rigorous research discipline to their digital health solutions."

Saxon, an international digital health guru, trained USC cardiologist and "Most Tech Savvy Doctor in the U.S." according to Rock Health, created the USC CBC in 2006 as one of the first university-based incubation centers. The mission of the CBC is to collaborate with various partners on research concepts in consumer-empowered health as well as commercialize wireless health products. For 10 years, the annual CBC conference has become a VIP ticket for digital health thought leaders and interested organizations to network, learn from each other and form fruitful collaborations.

The USC CBC partners with the public and private sectors on projects including:

• Virtual Care Clinic that includes virtual reality (VR) immersive medical experiences using a platform created by the USC Institute of Creative Technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) for on-demand, geographically borderless patient engagement and education
• App development, wearable technology and social media for first-of-its-kind mobile health research and solutions, such as the recently launched Level™ pilot study with VSP Global
• Biometric sensor analysis of professional athletes working with the NFL and NBA as well as collegiate football teams and military warfighters to enhance performance and readiness

The digital health sector seems immune to the downturn in funding that has hit the tech sector the last couple of years, according to Rock Health. Funding for digital health solutions is expected to nearly double in the next few years – from $3.5 billion in start-ups in 2014 to $6.5 billion in 2017.  The demand is met with equal force on the patient side, with 75 percent of patients expecting digital solutions in the near future, according to a recent report from McKinsey & Company. 

Learn more about the USC Center for Body Computing Conference at: uscbodycomuting.org

Learn more about the Keck Medicine of USC medical enterprise at: keckmedicine.org

Conference hashtag: #USCBCC10, Twitter: @USC_CBC

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160920/409818
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160920/409832LOGO

SOURCE USC Center for Body Computing