SAN DIEGO, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TEDMED, www.tedmed.com, the world's leading multi-disciplinary conference on the future of health and medicine, today announced that attendees will be able to explore and experience the most advanced medical devices and technologies for patient care and physician training in TEDMED's Innovations Showcase, a new feature at the 2011 edition of the conference.  A new medical arts illustration gallery will dazzle TEDMED participants with beautiful and educational examples of what happens when art meets science.

TEDMED is the annual conference where cutting-edge science and technology leaders "connect, understand and inspire" to advance the art of health and medicine with new ideas, the latest science and innovative technology.

A total of 52 speakers and 850 attendees will gather at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California from October 25 -28 for the 2011 edition of TEDMED's annual conference.  This year the TEDMED stage will feature presentations by Nobel Prize winners, the Surgeon General of the United States and superstar athletes, among many other impressive leaders from medical and non-medical fields.

"We live in an amazing era of medical discoveries and scientific progress, yet also a challenging era of complex social-medical problems that resist simple and easy solutions," said TEDMED Curator Jay Walker.  "TEDMED creates new perspectives by bringing together in one place thoughtful individuals and institutions from all sectors of society -- not just medicine -- to discuss the future of health and medicine in an interdisciplinary way.   Through diverse input and debate, the TEDMED community will inspire new possibilities and take new action that will lead to the greater well-being of humankind."

TEDMED Innovations Showcase

TEDMED's Innovations Showcase will encourage leaders from the worlds of health, medicine, science, technology, business, government, academia, media and the arts to interact with 36 advanced devices, apps and technologies that enhance patient care, as well as assist in physician training.  Featured displays include:

• The AccuVein AV300, a portable illumination device that can be pointed at any area of the body to view peripheral veins beneath the skin (from AccuVein Inc.)
• Advanced sensor and feedback technologies embedded in clothing and handheld systems that help detect patients' physical movements and brain injuries; helps amputees interact with therapeutic virtual environments; and helps medics and soldiers communicate on the battlefield (developed jointly by AnthroTronix, Inc., The USC Institute for Creative Technologies, and the Wayne State University's SSIM lab)
• A portable, non-contact vein illumination device that makes it easier for medical personnel to identify patients' veins for IV infusion and blood draws (from AnthroTronix)
• Asthmapolis, a mobile phone app that alerts asthma patients to high-risk geographic areas (from Asthmapolis)
• Ekso,  a "bionic exoskelelton" made of artificial components  and worn  externally to support and protect the wearer's body, allowing paralyzed individuals to stand and walk (from Berkeley Bionics)
• Sophisticated simulator-models of the human heart, hands and sinus system that allow a new level of realism in medical training without using live patients (from The Chamberlain Group)
• EarlySense, an automated, no-contact patient/bed monitoring system for hospitals (from EverOn)
• An Emotiv Developer Neuroheadset that uses bioinformatics to better understand the human brain and to screen for early signs of autism, epilepsy, learning disabilities and ADHD (from Emotiv Lifesciences)
• Livn'it, a multiplayer mobile habit gaming network that helps patients practice and master simple, sustainable daily habits using social gaming (from Kairos Labs)
• Next-generation gesture controlled technology software that enables the use of natural gestures and complex movements to control any device. (from OcuSpec)
• Assuage™ Smart Retractor™, an automated surgical retractor instrument that protects patients' tissues while delivering the access surgeons require, resulting in reduced discomfort and faster healing (from Physcient)
• Open Incision Surgical Skills Trainer, a surgical skills simulation trainer that allows physicians to perfect techniques using augmented reality and advanced haptic interfaces (from SimQuest)
• NovoGen MMX Bioprinter™, a sterile tissue printer that can fabricate a variety of organ sizes and shapes using multicellular aggregates (from University of Missouri and Modern Meadow, Inc)
• Magnetic Air Capsule Robotic System, a magnet-guided external robotic system for less invasive colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures (from Vanderbilt University Medical Center)
• Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor that connects the monitor to any 30 pin smart device that saves, tracks and detects trends (from Withings)

Medical Arts Illustration Gallery

The Medical Arts Illustration Gallery at TEDMED is hosted in cooperation with the Association of Medical Illustrators.  Artworks will be featured on stage, in conference materials and also showcased throughout conference meeting areas.

Like TEDMED itself, the best medical illustrations both teach and inspire by combining educational perspectives and aesthetic value into a single, powerful experience.

Illustrations by the following noted artists will be showcased during TEDMED:  Edmond Alexander, Christopher Burke, Gary Carlson, Bryan Christie, Cosmocyte, Audra Geras, Alexandra Gordon, Thom Graves, Jane Hurd, IOMEDIA, Craig Kiefer, David Killpack, Layla Lang, Kim Martens, Kirk Moldoff, Quade Paul, AXS Studio, Cynthia Turner, Catherine Twomey, Travis Vermilye and Ed Zilberts.

TEDMED Speaker List (as of 10/20/2011)

Peter Agre, Director, Malaria Research Institute; Bloomberg School Public Health; David Agus, Professor of Medicine, University of Southern California; Sekou Andrews, Artist, Playwright, Actor and Musician; Lance Armstrong, Chairman, Lance Armstrong Foundation; Nathan Ball, Artist; Ger Brophy, VP of Strategic Planning & Licensing, Medical Diagnostics, GE; Eythor Bender, CEO, Berkeley Bionics; Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General; Dan Buettner, Author; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer; Steve Connell, Artist, Playwright, Actor and Musician; Joseph DeSimone, Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina; Andrew Dawson, Performance Artist & Feldenkrais practitioner; Peter Diamandis, Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation; Ashley Dombkowski, Chief Business Officer, 23andMe; Bill Doyle, Chairman, NovoCure; Elissa Epel, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Juan Enriquez, Managing Director, Excel Venture Management; Gabor Forgacs, Chief Science Officer Organovo, professor of biophysics. University of Missouri; Michael Graves, Architect; Robert Hariri, CEO, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics; Calvin Harley, Co-Founder, CSO and President of Telome Health; A.J. Jacobs, Author; Barton Kamen, Clinical Research Professor, Metronomx; Dean Kamen, President, Deka Research & Development; Mehmood Khan, CSO, PEPSICO, CEO Global Nutrition Group; David Kirchhoff, President, Weight Watchers; Daniel Kraft, Physician, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology; Freda Lewis-Hall, CMO, Pfizer Medical; Charles Limb, Assoc. Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Jonathan Mann, Singer, Comedian;  Eric Mead, Magician, Author; Yoav Medan, VP/ Chief Systems Architect, InSightec; Catherine Mohr, Director of Medical Research, Intuitive Surgical; Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health IT, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Quyen Nguyen, Director, Facial Nerve Clinic, University of California San Diego; Sheila Nirenberg, Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Diana Nyad, Author, Ultra-Marathon Swimmer; Tim O'Reilly, Founder & CEO, O'Reilly Media; Todd Park, CTO, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; Cheryl Pegus, CMO, Walgreen Co.; Charles Pell, Co-Founder Physcient; Michael Rosenblatt, CMO, Merck; Eric Schadt, Director, Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology; Jill Sobule, Singer & Songwriter; Rick Smolan, Co-Founder, Against All Odds; Paul Stamets, Founder, Fungi Perfecti Laboratories; Lee Stein, Prize Capital & Virtual Group; Chris Toumazou, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College of London; Alexander Tsiaras, Founder & CEO The Visual MD; Loudon Wainwright III, Singer-Songwriter, Actor; Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple and Chief Scientist of Fusion-IO ; and John Wynn, Swedish Cancer Institute of Seattle.

TEDMED Sponsors

The TEDMED conference and mission are generously supported by more than a dozen major U.S. sponsors including some of the world's best-known companies.  TEDMED sponsors include important thought leaders in the realm of health and medicine: The California Endowment, GE, IOMEDIA, Jawbone, Johnson & Johnson, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Mars Inc., Nurture, Panasonic, PEPSICO, Qualcomm and Walgreens.

TEDMED Contributors

Abbott, Fulbright & Jawarski, LLP, Alexander Isley Inc., Philips Healthcare, Pfizer, Rogers & Cowan, Scanadu, Seagull Bags, SpotMe, Stairway 9, Sub Rosa, Urban Zen, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, VEEV, XVIVO and Yamaha.

TEDMED Talks and Updates

True to the TED tradition, tedmed.com makes videos of its stage presentations available at www.tedmed.com at no cost after the conclusion of the conference.  Videos are also posted on TED.com, YouTube and CNN.com for free online viewing.  TED talks, incorporating TEDMED talks, have been downloaded more than 500 million times around the world.

TEDMED issues monthly email bulletins.  To subscribe, please send an email to: update@tedmed.com.

TEDMED, LLC is an independent organization operated under a special license from the nonprofit TED conference.  TEDMED is the only authorized, independent TED conference focusing on the fields of heath and medicine.  For more information, please visit www.tedmed.com.

On-site Press Room (October 25 – 28 only)
(619) 435-6611  Windsor Room

SOURCE TEDMED