Founded in 2004, the Games for Health Project supports community, knowledge and business development efforts to use cutting-edge games and game technologies to improve health and health care. The Games for Health Conference brings together researchers, medical professionals and game developers to share information about the impact of games, playful interaction and game technologies on health, health care and policy. Over two days, more than 400 attendees participate in over 60 sessions provided by an international array of 80+ speakers, cutting across a wide range of activities in health and health care. Topics include exergaming, physical therapy, disease management, health behavior change, biofeedback, rehab, epidemiology, training, cognitive health, nutrition and health education.
Prof. Dr. Ben Schouten BA is full professor in Playful Interaction at Eindhoven University of Technology, as well as associate professor Play & Game Design at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. He is a Member of the Dutch Games Association and advisor for the European Commission. Dr. Marlies P. Schijven is a surgeon at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, and a renowned researcher in the field of Virtual Reality applications for healthcare, Simulation and Serious Gaming. Dr. Mirjam Vosmeer is a member of the Games & Play department, at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. She has a PhD in communication science and an academic background in game studies, psychology, popular culture and media entertainment. Her further professional background includes television production, scriptwriting, journalism and publishing.Dr. Stephen Fedtke is an IT specialist and highly recognized book author and editor. His focus is on the interdisciplinary application of information and media technologies, such as IT security, health and entertainment. Alex Gekker is a doctoral candidate at Utrecht University and member of the Games for Health Europe's founding team. His research focuses on playful everyday interactions in the digital maps domain.