New digital health solutions unveiled at top influencer conference hosted by USC Center for Body Computing

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC), part of Keck Medicine of USC, today hosts the 8^th Annual USC CBC Conference, the leading digital health revolution event of international creators, designers and funders. Speakers will focus on a broad range of topics that showcase the latest innovations in digital health to potentially transform medicine: Music and virtual patient consult apps, wearable tech and industrial design, patient advocacy, Big Data experts, leading investors as well as an Academy Award winner and others talking about patient empowerment and creating your personal health story.

Additional themes explored at this year's conference include patient privacy issues, 24/7 streams of biometric data that potentially allow diagnosis and treatment to happen in real-time for patients, soldiers or athletes, and the fact that multibillion-dollar companies are turning their focus on digital health to help patients.

The USC CBC, founded in 2007, has been instrumental in leading the narrative on digital health and shaping the body computing movement. Over the years, CBC collaborations with startups and now major companies, combined with interdisciplinary research and development, have resulted in innovative solutions that use digital health to make the world a healthier place. So far 2014 has seen 23 digital health-related FDA clearances for smartphone-connected medical devices and apps.

"Patients can and should be the heroes of their own health stories," said Leslie A. Saxon, M.D., a Keck Medicine of USC cardiologist and founder/executive director of USC CBC, and internationally recognized for synthesizing business, engineering, entertainment arts and medicine into new paradigms.  "Historically, medical apps have been under-represented, but new apps and innovations, like those we are unveiling today, equip patients to take control over their personal health. Our chief goal is to develop the next-generation digital health solutions and put those in the hands of patients – which can potentially transform medicine."

The business community agrees. Funding for digital health solutions is expected to nearly double in the next three 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. 

At the summit, more than 20 international experts will cover topics from biometrics, design, virtual office visits, patient consent, Big Data and privacy to elite athletic training and venture capital funding.  Some of the day's highlights include:

Leslie Saxon, M.D. announces results of collaborative study between CBC and AliveCor Heart Monitor that collected and analyzed data collected from 1,000 patients through its FDA-approved mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) device the past year.  She will unveil the Biogram app, a collaboration between USC Viterbi School of Engineering, AliveCor and Medable, and the first app that allows heart rate to be shared with a photo.

Stuart Karten founder of Karten Design, and Sonny Wu, founder of MisFit Wearables, will explore the future of design and digital health solutions where wearable technology will be replaced by new invisible solutions and implantable microscopic sensors.

Ed Saxon, keynote speaker and multiple Academy Award winning producer, talks about the role storytelling plays in delivering digital medical care so patients can engage in a truly durable and impactful way.

Michelle Longmire, M.D. and founder of Medable, unveils VADable app for iOS created in collaboration with CBC for artificial heart pump patients (ventricular assist devices/VADs) to connect the entire team of caregivers, primary physicians, cardiologists and others through the app for "virtual visits."

Deborah Peel, M.D. and founder of Patient Privacy Rights and Matt Hogan of Datacoup will look at the issues of personal health data and how to use data to our benefit and what that means in the post-Snowden era.

Dave Albert, M.D. and founder of AliveCor, will explain over-the-counter approval this year and how automated analysis of ECGs provide a groundbreaking example for computerized decision support tools.

Hoby Darling, CEO of Skullcandy, Inc. and Andy Walshe of Red Bull, look at how entertainment, technology and data enhance human performance.

Leaders in venture capital and digital health offer the latest industry perspectives, including Jack Young of Qualcomm Ventures, Dana Mead of Kleiner Perkins and Casper De Clerq of Norwest Ventures.

Ryan Capretta of Proactive Sports shows how sensor data collected from NFL players demonstrate the value of biometric data in training elite athletes, in a joint project with CBC and Zephyr.

Rachel Francine and Andy Tubman, 2014 Body Computing SLAM Contest Winners present their innovative concept SingFit that garnered a $10,000 prize last night from CBC and Skullcandy Inc., to use the power of music to improve health. The SingFit app finds new solutions by digitizing the evidence-based music therapy technique of lyric prompting, which enables practically everyone, including those with dementia, autism, Parkinson's and traumatic brain injuries to sing on a regular basis in order to achieve therapeutic goals.

About the USC Center for Body Computing Conference
The 8th Annual USC Center for Body Computing Conference is an event designed to bring digital and life sciences executives, sensor and mobile app inventors, strategists, designers, investors and visionaries from health care, entertainment and technology together for one day to showcase an international array of digital and mobile health ideas.

Founded by Leslie Saxon, an international digital health guru and trained USC cardiologist who has spoken at TEDMED, SXSW and WIRED international conferences, the USC CBC conference is her promise to make consumers "the heroes of their own health stories." The conference will be held on the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles on October 3. For more information or to register for the conference, visit: uscbodycomputing.org

ABOUT KECK MEDICINE OF USC
Keck Medicine of USC is the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-based medical systems in the Los Angeles area. Encompassing academic, research and clinical excellence, the medical system attracts internationally renowned experts who teach and practice at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the region's first medical school; includes the renowned USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the first comprehensive cancer centers established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States; has a medical faculty practice, the USC Care Medical Group; operates the Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes two acute care hospitals: 401-licensed bed Keck Hospital of USC and 60-licensed bed USC Norris Cancer Hospital; and owns USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, a 158-licensed bed community hospital. It also includes more than 40 outpatient facilities, some at affiliated hospitals, in Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Tulare and Ventura counties.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck Medical Center of USC among the Top 10 in ophthalmology (No. 9), and among the Top 25 hospitals in the United States for urology (No. 20) and cancer care (No. 23). The medical center was also awarded an "A" grade from The Leapfrog Group in March, representing outstanding patient safety practices and overall patient outcomes.

For more information, go to http://www.keckmedicine.org/beyond

SOURCE Keck Medicine of USC