SharpBrains

Given the whole distracting "controversy" of whether Nintendo Brain Age "works" or not, I have started to use the following "brain teasers" in my talks in order to help the audience gain a more useful perspective of what is going on. They worked great both in the Medicare Readmissions Summit in DC a few weeks ago, and at the Games for Heath Conference last week.

Q: How many soldiers in the US Army have gone through computerized cognitive testing before being deployed, and why?
A: Over 150,000, in order to establish an objective starting baseline and identify potential PTSD and TBI problems upon their return

Q: How big is the ongoing investment by OptumHealth, a division of UnitedHealth Group (UNH), in developing computerized cognitive assessments to inform clinical decision-making?
A: over $6m

Q: How many Allstate policy-holders over the age of 50 are now using a computerized cognitive training program to measure the potential improvements in driving safety derived from the training?
A: Over 8,000, in the state of Pennsylvania

Q: How many residential communities are offering computerized cognitive training programs to their residents?
A: Over 700, in the US alone, covering independent and assisted living

Q: How much money has the Government of Ontario invested in setting up a new Centre for Brain Fitness as part of Baycrest research center in order to develop and commercialize technologies to assess and enhance cognitive functions?
A: $10m, matched with another 10m from local investors

For more on our Cognitive Health Track at Games for Health Conference last week, see this USA Today article:

More doctor's prescriptions may include brain games to improve mental acuity

(pretty good overall, but please note that SharpBrains didn't organize the whole conference, "only" the cognitive health track, which was a lot of stimulating fun. Ben Sawyer and team did overall conference).

The San Francisco Chronicle brings two great pieces today - including an excellent review of our new Book!

Is Your Brain A Couch Potato? (online book review)

"At 165 pages, we're talking a short, sweet, entertaining read of a complex topic, with timely (written in 1/09) reviews of 21 top technology products, as well as informed and expert predictions of where this burgeoning brain-fitness field is headed. More importantly, after you read it, you'll have a good, detailed sense of where you, personally, can act to improve your own couch-potato brain - and how to keep it fit and flexible your whole life. The SharpBrains Guide To Brain Fitness reminds of us all why books (and not just googling a topic) can be well worth your time and money. Two Stethoscopes Up - check it out."

Software designed to make older drivers sharper (article in print version)

- "Allstate is experimenting with the software because it wants its customers who are over 50 to become better drivers so they have fewer accidents and can drive longer, perhaps in return for lower premiums, said Tom Warden, an assistant vice president in Allstate's research and planning center."

- "Allstate found Posit after the insurance company's own scientists, who were working on the physiology and psychology of good drivers, discovered research done by Visual Awareness, a company in Alabama that has worked with State Farm and various state motor vehicle departments on expanding drivers' fields of view. Posit acquired Visual Awareness last year."

Brain-fitness games join workplace, as well as senior center, arsenals (MarketWatch)

- "Consumers and retirement homes have made brain-fitness games and exercises a commercial hit, but now some insurers and employers are incorporating them into wellness programs that promote health not just for the body but also for the mind."

- "Improving brain health can result in less presenteeism, the tendency to be at work but be distracted and not able to focus," he added. "If you look at disability costs, absenteeism and presenteeism account for most of the medical costs, and that's a good reason for employers to be focused on brain health." (according to Dr. Eugene Baker, vice president at OptumHealth's Behavioral Solutions division)"

The article reviews innovative practices at OptumHealth, Nationwide Auto Insurance Company, Humana, Penn Treaty American Corp, Allstate, and the US Army. I am glad to see the media start to notice the importance of cognitive assessments and the growing activity by insurers. Continue Reading »

Games for Health and SharpBrains have partnered to bring you the first Cognitive Health Track in a Games for Health Conference, June 11-12th in Boston. If you are interested, in attending the conference, you can learn more and register Here.

To get a 15% off registration fees ($379), you can use discount code: sharp09, when you register Here.

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Cognitive Health Track, Powered by SharpBrains

Thursday, June 11th

10.20 (50m) Bird's Eye View of Cognitive Health Innovation
Speaker(s): Alvaro Fernandez, SharpBrains

Scientific, technological and demographic trends have converged to create a new $265m market in the US alone: serious games, software and online applications that can help people of all ages assess and train cognitive abilities. Alvaro Fernandez will provide a Bird’s Eye View of the science, market segments and trends, competitive landscape, and main challenges ahead, based on The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2009 report released in May, which included Research Executive Briefs prepared by 12 leading scientists and a survey of 2,000+ decision-makers and early adopters.

61% of respondents to the survey Strongly Agreed with the statement “Addressing cognitive and brain health should be a healthcare priority.” But, 65% Agreed/Strongly Agreed with “I don't really know what to expect from products making brain claims.” In this session, Alvaro will publicly unveil the new book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, To Keep Your Brain Sharp, co-authored by neuropsychologist Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg and himself, aimed at helping consumers and professionals understand and navigate this growing field.

11.20 (30m) The Allstate-Posit Science Partnership: Cognitive Training for Safer Driving
Speaker(s): Tom Warden, Allstate; Henry Mahncke, Posit Science

Evidence-based cognitive training programs have been available in retirement communities for several years. Now, they are reaching a younger population including Boomers through innovative partnerships, like insurers.

In October 2008 auto insurance company Allstate and brain fitness software developer Posit Science announced a research collaboration that could lead to "potentially the next big breakthrough in automobile safety". The purpose of this session is to review novel ways of getting the science of cognitive training into the real world where it can help people. Representatives from Allstate and Posit Science will discuss why these partnerships work for insurers, developers, and end users. They will also provide a thorough review of the evaluation process a major partner goes through when selecting a cognitive training company.

12.00 (30m) What Consumers Buy and Why
Speaker(s): Lindsay Gaskins, Marbles: The Brain Store

Launched in October 2008, Marbles: The Brain Store is a retail store that Continue Reading »

This is a press release that went through the wire earlier today. If you are interested, in attending the conference, you can learn more and register Here

Note that below you can find 5 out of the 12 sessions - we will announce the full track tomorrow. To get a 15% off registration fees, you can use discount code: sharp09, when you register.

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The Games for Health Project, organizers of the 5th Annual Games for Health Conference, today announced its first Cognitive Health Track powered by SharpBrains, a leading market research company focused on the brain fitness and the cognitive health market.

The Cognitive Health track builds upon previous year's sampling of sessions looking at cognitive health and fitness, expanding to a full two-day track at The Games for Health Conference, June 11-12, Boston, MA. The Conference features the largest gathering of organizations interested in the intersection between videogames, health and healthcare.

"There is already a very active cognitive health videogames industry and field of research," said Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Games for Health Conference. "We partnered with SharpBrains to bring their expertise in this field our conference planning. Together we have for the first time created a powerful set of sessions and a much needed conversation with researchers, thought-leaders and industry pioneers who will attend the event in June."

The track features a dozen sessions covering research findings and partnerships, implementation in insurance, consumer and clinical settings, and special sessions looking at innovative areas such as driver safety, healthy aging, attention deficits, stroke/traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis.

"The convergence of interactive media such as videogames with cognitive science opens the door to innovative and scalable approaches to Continue Reading »

How do you know when something is fast moving towards a Gladwellian tipping point? When health insurance companies and public policy makers launch significant initiatives.

For example, the government of Ontario recently announced a $10 million investment with Baycrest Research Centre who will partner with MaRS Venture Group to develop and commercialise brain fitness technologies. The investment was matched by an additional $10 million from private sources.

Another important development was the $18 million agreement between the Australian-based Brain Resource Company (ASX:BRC) and OptumHealth in the US. This will allow for the provision of web-based cognitive assessments as part of a clinician’s decision support systems.

These are some initiatives covered in a webinar Top Ten Cognitive Fitness Events of 2008 presented in December for SharpBrains' clients. Alvaro Fernandez described the state of play and main drivers behind the growth of the burgeoning brain fitness market - which I will try and summarize here.

The key drivers seem to be Continue Reading »

Good article in the New York Times today:
An Epidemic of Crashes Among the Aging? Unlikely, Study Says

- "The (Insurance Institute for Highway Driving) insurance institute is conducting further research to determine why the risks appear to be going down for older drivers. It may be that today’s older drivers are simply in better physical and mental shape than their counterparts a decade ago, so they are not only less likely to make a driving mistake, but also less frail and better able to survive injuries."

There is no doubt that, as a group, older persons of any given age are in better physical and mental shape today than their counterparts years ago. For context, worldwide life expectancy has increased more than 20 years in less than 6o years - so you can imagine how a person in his or her early 70s today is in better shape than someone in his or her mid-60s a few decades back.

Still, as the number of people over the age of 60 starts to grow exponentially given the influx of baby boomers, society at large will probably benefit from starting to think through 1) what are the types of programs, whether introduced and managed by the AARP, DMV or car insurance companies, that can help older adults drive safely for as long as they want and need, 2) what are the mechanisms to prevent having drivers in our roads who don't possess the minimum perceptual and cognitive abilities required to drive "safely" (and what "safely" really means).

And, yes, we should probably have a similar conversation regarding teenage driving.
For related reading, you may enjoy these 2 articles:

- Allstate: Can we improve Driver Safety using Posit Science InSight?

- Improving Driving Skills and Brain Functioning- Interview with ACTIVE's Jerri Edwards

Crisp CNN article:

Boom times for brain training games

Including my final quote "[Brain fitness] is not just some fad. The market is much deeper than Nintendo."

The "brain fitness center" financed by Ontario is Baycrest. Companies mentioned: Mindfit, Posit Science, Nintendo, Allstate, BrainBuilder, MyBrainTrainer.

The reporter and I also discussed in depth the need for better consumer education and professional development, so people can make informed decisions, and for cognitive assessments to serve as independent baseline, help identify priorities and measure results. Please note that our market estimates do include revenues of computerized cognitive assessments, today mostly used in clinical trials, and wthin the military and sports teams.

We have just announced an upcoming webinar to provide a market update:  Top 10 Cognitive Fitness Events of 2008 - A Market Update.

When: Thursday December 11th, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm Pacific Time. The same webinar will be repeated on Thursday December 18th, from 9:00 to 10:00 pm Pacific Time.

The Top 10 Cognitive Fitness Events that will be discussed include:

1) February: Dakim secures a $10.6m investment from Galen Partners. Jack LaLanne becomes spokesperson.
2) April: The Government of Ontario, Canada, invests $10m in Baycrest to develop and commercialize cognitive fitness technologies.
3) April: University of Michigan researchers reveal in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how computerized working memory training can generalize and improve fluid intelligence in healthy adults.
4) May: Humana unveils Games for Health initiatives, not renewing its agreement with Posit Science.
5) June: The US Army launches a new policy requiring cognitive screenings of all soldiers before deployment (in order to Continue Reading »

As you have probably seen, the Cognitive Health and Brain Fitness field is rapidly evolving, so let me highlight some of the main recent developments affecting the field:

1) Public policy initiatives:
- The Government of Ontario, Canada, announced a $10m investment in Baycrest Research Center to help develop and commercialize brain fitness technologies. This $10m investment was matched with an additional $10m by local investors.
- In the US, The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was signed into law, included in the recently-approved economic bailout bill. The passage of this law has significant implications for healthcare providers and technology vendors alike.

2) Computerized Cognitive Assessments Used by the US Military:
The US Army launched a new policy requiring cognitive screenings of all soldiers before deployment (in order to better diagnose potential problems such as PTSD and TBI upon return). ANAM was the selected computerized battery of tests.

3) Venture & Angel Fundraising for Cognitive Training companies:
A number of developers have raised money. CogniFit received $5m (from Milk Capital), Lumos Labs $3m (FirstMark Capital -previously called Pequot Ventures-, Norwest Venture Partners), Scientific Brain Training $1.5m (issued shares), Vivity Labs $1m (undisclosed angel investors), This is, of course, on top of the February $10.6 investment in Dakim (Galen Partners) that we already included in our market report.

4) Major Initiatives by Insurance Companies:
- Allstate launched a large-scale research project to measure impact of Posit Science InSight (visual processing training) on driver safety for adults over 50.
- OptumHealth announced a 3-year, $18m agreement with Brain Resource to offer web-based cognitive assessments as part of clinicians' decision support systems.
- Humana decided not to renew its agreement with Posit Science to offer Posit’s auditory processing training program to Medicare members.

5) New Research:
- In a significant new study, a team from the University of Michigan published a high-quality paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing how computerized working memory training can generalize and improve fluid intelligence (one of the domains that tends to decline with age).
- Learning and Teaching Scotland released an internal study showing how Nintendo Brain Training can help children’s math and concentration skills. The study gained significant media attention, despite the fact it hasn’t been published in a respected journal.

Note: This is an excerpt from the 6-Month Market Update we will  release later this month, covering the many important developments that have occurred since we launched the inaugural Brain Fitness Market Report in March this year. This special report will be available exclusively for our Premium Research Sponsors.