By: Alvaro Fernandez
Over the next weeks we are going to be sharing the Executive Summary of our market report The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008 with members and clients of several partner organizations (the British Columbia Seniors Living Association, where I will be speaking this Thursday, Neurotech Reports, where I will speak on October 24th, and the Health 2.0 conference, where we are sponsoring a panel on gaming for health), so it is only fair that we first share it with our own readers.
Executive Summary
A spate of recent global news coverage on brain fitness and brain training reflects a growing interest in natural, non drug-based interventions to keep our brains sharp as we age. This interest is very timely, given an aging population, increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s rates, and soaring health care costs in the US that place more emphasis than ever on prevention and lifestyle changes.
US brain fitness market: significant and growing
We estimate the size of the US brain fitness market was $225m in 2007 – more than double what it was in 2005. Whereas K12 school systems were the largest buyers in 2005, consumers were responsible for most of the growth from 2005 to 2007. We estimate that the consumer segment grew from a few million in 2005 to $80m in 2007, and foresee significant market growth driven not only by consumers but also by healthcare and insurance providers.
Market dynamics
As we speak to diverse audiences about this emerging field around the country we are frequently asked the following questions:
- Why are we talking about the brain fitness field at all?
Over the past decade, teams backed by neuroscientists around the world Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Welcome to the 30th edition of Medicine 2.0, the blog carnival devoted to articles that analyze the current and potential impact of web 2.0 technologies on medicine and healthcare.
“Medicine 2.0″ 101
The first question is, of course, “What exactly is Medicine 2.0?”. The second, “Who cares?”. The third, “Why?”Â
Anthropologists are here to help. Who better to help understand emerging artifacts of
the health and medical tribe, as evidenced by the fantastic lecture An Anthropological Introduction To Youtube given to the Library of Congress by Professor Michael Wesch. As Open Thinking suggests, the video which is 55 minutes long provides an “excellent backgrounder on social media, user-generated content, and online communities through the lens of anthropology.”
If you are more the PowerPoint type, you can access the great slide presentation and list of websites provided by eHealth: see Web 2.0 in Clinical Research.
The Future of Medicine and Health 2.0
Admittedly, the Medicine 2.0 field is still small and emerging. But, how will it grow? What new healthcare outcomes will it enable and support? What may be the trade-offs to consider, if any? Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez
A couple of excellent collections of blog posts:
-The Tangled Bank: all things science, with a very clear presentation.
-Medicine 2.0: intersection of Health and Web 2.0, hosted by Bertalan Mesko, its creator.
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Professor, trader and author Brett Steenbarger, one of the main experts on Trading psychology and Trader Performance (see our interview with him here), just announced he will speak at a Free Interactive Webinar on Trader Performance
- “During the Webinar, I will summarize and elaborate basic ideas from my book and also introduce new ideas developed and applied since the book’s publication. A unique feature of the session will be a participant Q&A moderated by Steve.” (Steven Buss, a member of the NeoTicker forum)
He recently wrote a great post on My Favorite Techniques for Overcoming Performance Anxiety in Trading, including a wonderful technique (see article to read the full description)
Recent Comments