ISDM E-Newsletter

The last few weeks have been very busy with some outstanding events and an eye-opening trip to Turkey on an IKSAD trade mission to the earthquake hit region of Adiyaman. I will cover details of the events attended, lessons learnt, trip to Turkey plus details of some exciting upcoming events, including the expert panel discussion on Wednesday December 4th which you can register for by clicking here.

?Expert Panel on Digital Innovation and Lifestyle Change Solutions

The key public health challenges of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like obesity. diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular problems can only be effectively solved by changes in lifestyle behaviours. This was recognised by the former Head of the NHS, Sir Simon Stevens many years ago and seems to be at he heart of Govt Health Minister, Wes Streeting's strategy. Changing and maintaining good lifestyle behaviours at scale is challenging but is achievable by harnessing a combination of human coaching, digital innovation, gamification strategies and community support. This expert panel discussion features expert practitioners and developers who have developed solutions that have changed lives without the use of unnecessary drugs and/or surgery.

?Our Expert Panel Features :-

Ben Wilkins , CEO and Founder of GoodBoost

Ben has been very successful in transforming the lives of patients with Musculo-Skeletal disorders through the use of digital innovation, gamification and social interaction. He will share his experiences of how his therapies in swimming pools have been a clinical and commercial success

Lucia Pannese , CEO & Founder of Imaginary srl

Lucia has established one of the leading European companies, Milan-based Imaginary srl, specialising in gamification and rehabilitation. Lucia will discuss how their flagship product, Rehability, uses this combination of gamification and technology to treat a variety of clinical conditions including both physical and mental impairment.

Ron O'Donnell, Ph.D. , Lifestyle Medicine Guru at Arizona State University

Ron is one of the world’s leading practitioners and authorities on lifestyle behaviour change. He has worked in many different countries training clinicians and health workers on practices for health change

Neil King , CEO & Founder of Longevity Gym and Daily Boost MK Nutrition Club

Neil is a leading authority on smart gyms that use gamification to help users to “Age Younger” and he has recently started a Nutrition Club near Milton Keynes to add nutrition to the exercise component of lifestyle medicine.

Neil Bindemann , CEO & Founder of the Lifestyle Health Foundation

Neil is a genuine pioneer of lifestyle health and wellbeing and person-centred strategies for improving both physical and mental health. He will share his work and the use of TOMs (Therapy Outcome Measures) to both validate and improve best practice lifestyle medicine strategies.

This is a webinar not to be missed!! Register by clicking on the link below ?

Life Changing Lifestyle Medicine Practices and Experiences

This expert panel discussion recording took place on October 16th.? It featured inspiring stories from people of many different backgrounds about how their lives have been changed as a result of one or more pillars of lifestyle medicine e.g. physical activity. healthy eating, sleep, mental wellbeing, healthy relationships and minimising harmful substances. Each panel member shared the circumstances that led them to lifestyle medicine practices, the impact that has had on their lives and what tips and lessons can help others in similar situations. Some panel members have dealt with physical and emotional traumas using lifestyle medicine whilst other have learnt to age more healthily and avoid and even reverse conditions such as diabetes this way.

?Click here to view the panel recording

?LIPS Menopause Awareness Event

LIPS (London International Patient Services) is based at Battersea Power Station. On Friday October 18th it was the venue for a Menopause Awareness Event with inspiring experts in menopause and also a number of specialist suppliers of products and services related to menopause, such as ZinZino, personalised nutritional solutions.

To learn more about London International Patient Services and be kept up to date with future events, visit their web site at Expert Private Healthcare | London International Patient Services

IKSAD Mission to Turkiye

IKSAD hosted a trade mission to the Adiyaman district of Turkiye which is an area badly affected by the earthquakes in the region in which 3,000 people died in the town of Golbasi. The aim of the mission was to explore potential digital health collaborative projects between the UK and Turkiye and the USA and Turkiye. Prior to the trip, Fellow IKSAD guest, Leslie Robinson, Founder of Trans4mation Games in New York had run a series of workshops based on the board games she has developed for addressing mental health related to trauma. You can see a video recording of her workshops by clicking on the image below or click here.

I met up with Leslie Robinson and the IKSAD team led by Dr. Kaldygul Adilbekova and MUSTAFA EMEK in Gazantiep where we visited the American Hospital and a number of cultural sites.

From Gazantiep, we travelled to Golbasi which was the base for our exploratory meetings in Adiyaman. The trip to this area was a revelation, not just for the excellent work being done by IKSAD and its partners in the region, but also for the incredible hospitality and resilience evidenced in Golbasi where there is an area called “Container City” which still houses over 1000 people living in converted shipping containers.

?I also want to highlight the reason for the image of the Accident and Emergency hospital at the head of this section. During the night after we arrived in Golbasi, my partner fell ill with diarrhoea and sickness. It was so intense that our IKSAD hosts took us to the A&E department of the local hospital which is in an area full of damaged properties and roads. The care provided by this hospital was outstanding. My partner was examined and treated within minutes of our arrival, given a blood test and placed in a private cubicle with a saline drip to re-hydrate her. She was looked after very well whilst we witnessed so many cases being treated all around us.

?She was only discharged after a further blood test and given drugs to take with her to manage her condition. I can only say that this experience of a hospital was one of the best and something that UK hospitals could learn from.

?Daily Boost MK Nutrition Club

I have previously covered the excellent Longevity gym initiative I joined a few months ago. The gym mantra is “Age Younger” and I have managed to reduce my bioage by 15 years through my visits to the gym and its state of the art equipment. The Founder of the gym, Neil King and his wife, Carla, have now set up a Daily Boost MK Nutrition Club in a town centre location near Milton Keynes.

Royal Society of Medicine Digital Twins Event (Part2) – Ethics and Clinical Uses

The RSM Digital Twin event was held in London on November 6th. ?Digital twins, widely used in other industries, are now emerging in healthcare. These virtual models of medical entities, processes, or systems integrate data from sources like medical records, patient data, and sensors, using AI and machine learning to simulate healthcare elements.

This event was a follow-on from a previous RSM previous event. It provided clinicians and patients the insights and understanding of digital twins technologies. It enabled attendees to critically appraise the technology and be part of the discussion about the ethics of digital twins.

The Royal Society of Medicine brings together a unique mix of developers, clinicians, patients, academics, regulators and philosophers at the forefront of the next stage in healthcare technology.

Delegates gained the following insights:-

• Understanding what digital twins are
• Learning about which digital twins are available now in healthcare
• Being part of the discussion about the ethical implications of digital twins in healthcare

Kevin Tong was one of the final speakers. He gave a fascinating insight into the role of digital twins in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. This use of digital twins during this period was based on geographic information systems digital twins that used demographic maps able to visualise the make up of the population in an area of London and use this digital twin to predict vulnerable areas and manage the health resources of those most affected.

Brainwave Technologies and Applications

I prepared a presentation for a Global Meet on Neuroscience and Brain Disorders (GMNBD2024) on the topic of Brainwave technologies and Applications. If you would like a copy of the Powerpoint presentation, I will be happy to send it via Dropbox. Just email me at [email protected].

Keeping it Fresh TOMs (Therapy Outcome Measures) Workshop

I was able to attend a superb workshop in Birmingham. The workshop was an update on developments in TOMs (Therapy Outcome Measures) which are designed to assess the effectiveness of therapies for a variety of medical conditions, including both physical and mental chronic conditions. TOMs are also designed to improve therapy practices by providing the criteria for Allied Health professionals such as carers, psychiatrists and physiotherapists to assess improvements in patient health and wellbeing based on functionality and quality of life.

?It was inspiring to meet Neil Bindemann , Graham Stephens and the wonderful Professor Pam Enderby who are the driving forces behind TOMs. Professor Enderby published a handbook on TOMs which is very comprehensive and worthwhile for anyone working in this field. You can learn more about Neil Bindemann’s work on health and wellbeing by visiting the web site https://lifestylehealth.org.uk/.

Unlocking Learning Potential through Gamification TechUK Event

I attended the first of 2 TechUK events in London on November 14th. This event explored how we can address the need to move beyond traditional gamification approaches to harness the potential of play-based learning in edtech solutions. With an audience of technologists and educators, this event assessed the state of play regarding the integration of digital games in learning environments in the UK.

?Part of techUK's flagship Unleashing Innovation campaign, they are exploring how the UK can lead on the development, application and commercialisation of the key technologies set to underpin the Gaming and Esports industry of the future. This event was also a happy reunion with my Research Director at the Serious Games Institute, Dr Sara de Freitas , Dr Mike Short CBE FREng FIET FBCS FITP and Jazz Rasool . The event was an excellent networking opportunity.

TechUK Gaming and eSports Workshop

The National Video Games Museum in Sheffield was the venue for a video gaming and esports workshop the following week where I unexpectedly met up with Professor Manolya Kavali of Aston University who is an expert on gamification and enabling technologies.

The UK stands at a critical juncture in its leadership of technology and creativity, driving rapid growth as a global hub for video games. After a year of in-depth conversations with leading gaming and technology companies across the UK, TechUK has gathered valuable insights to shape techUK's highly anticipated Gaming & Esports report.

?The workshop was an exclusive in-person event where TechUK revealed key findings from the report, followed by a panel discussion with industry leaders exploring cutting-edge technologies poised to revolutionise the video gaming and Esports sectors, as well as strategies to strengthen the UK's position as a global leader in the development, application and commercialisation of these innovations.

?As well as being a great networking event, it provided a nostalgic opportunity to go down memory lane and see the video games that played an important part in my life, including Space Invaders which I used to play at my local squash club in the 1970s and Guitar Hero, my all time favourite game that became identified with my time as Founding Director of the Serious Games Institute.

IKSAD World Health Congress

I made an online presentation at the IKSAD World Health Congress on Saturday 23rd November. This event featured researchers from all over the world sharing their health-related projects. My presentation was on the topic “Transforming Public Health through Digital Innovation, Gamification and Community Health and Wellbeing Hubs” in which I shared my experiences of some of the latest developments in digital health including smart rings, longevity gyms, nutrition clubs, rehabilitation technologies and brainwave applications.

If you would like a Powerpoint copy of my presentation email me at [email protected].

RSM Symposium on Recent Advances in Medicine and Surgery

I will be attending this one-day hybrid symposium at the RSM for senior RSM Fellows on December 5th which is accessible both in person and online.

This one-day annual symposium offers a series of reviews of clinical topics which have seen recent advances, given by speakers who are experts in their respective fields. This event will provide an update on a wide range of topics that will deliver broad, accessible and stimulating updates on topics that hold key clinical importance and current interest, directly relevant to physicians, surgeons, GPs and others involved in healthcare.

It will be a full day featuring keynote insights and eight main sessions, interspersed with regular refreshment breaks and opportunities to meet network and discuss with others attending.

Among the subjects to be addressed this year are:

• Faecal incontinence
• The role of the obstetric physician
• Parathyroid surgery in 2024
• The dangers of Sunshine
• Beware of your pets
• Present and future of MRI in cardiology
• Dementia: time for a rethink
• Facial reconstruction

Participants will be able to:

• Know about recent developments across a wide field of subjects of topical interest.??
• Learn about new techniques in areas of medical and surgical practice.??
• Help appreciate the value of a multidisciplinary approach in modern medicine.

IKSAD British Congress

I am honoured to be the Conference Chair for the IKSAD British Congress on Interdisciplinary Scientific Research and Studies in January 2025. This congress is a follow-on from the inaugural conference held in June at the Royal Society of Medicine in London where Global Health Challenges was the them of the 1 day event which featured excellent presentations from Noral Colton, Professor Abdul Saka, Mary Akangbe, Dr Anthony Basiel, Adam Townsend, Helen Hobbs, Steve Gardner, David Wortley, Tre Azam, Rebecca Gill, Sarah Partridge, Ellis Parry, Andrew Cowen, Fraser Birrell and Neil King.

You can view the individual YouTube video recording of each presenter by clicking on their name.

To you can submit applications to make a presentation and publish an abstract or full paper at the second British Congress by visiting the British Congress web site at https://www.britishcongress.co.uk/

RehabHRC Innovation Event

Welcome to our Innovation Event focusing on Working Age and Older Adults! Join us for a day filled with insightful discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Discover the latest trends and advancements in rehabilitation technology tailored for individuals in these age groups. Whether you're a healthcare professional, caregiver, industry or someone interested in the field, this event is perfect for gaining new knowledge and connecting with like-minded individuals. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn and grow!

The day will give you an overview of the Rehab HRC and how we can support the development of new rehabilitation technology. We will have presentations on Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement, lntellectual Property and Health Economics with a more indepth Q&A session in the afternoon.

There will also be a opportunity in the afternoon to book a slot with a theme lead to discuss your potential project and how we might support or assist in the further development of your idea. These slots are limited, so if you want to book a slot please email [email protected].

Future Events Program and Speaker Invitations

Here are some upcoming events which may be of interest:-

If you would like to be considered as a speaker or an expert panel member please drop me an email at [email protected] with a brief summary of your involvement in digital medicine. The interviews scheduled will be by invitation only.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are personal.

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