This was an invited keynote delivered in Sydney, at Australia's annual health informatics conference HIC2012. I was asked to speak about the Quantified Self, and the self-tracking movement in general, and its potential impact on healthcare.
Nearly 40 years ago in Silicon Valley, a group of pioneers leveraged technological advances and new ways of thinking to make computing personal. Computing went from being dismissed as a tool of bureaucratic control to being embraced as a symbol of individual expression and liberation. The creativity of millions of individuals was unleashed. Their experimentation has changed the world, often exceeding the innovation from traditional institutions. Today another generation is leveraging technological advances and new ways of thinking to make healthcare personal. They are developing and using tools, technologies, ideas and communities to enable and empower individuals to understand and manage their own health. They are encouraging and supporting crowd-sourced scientific advancements. What are these people doing? What tools are they using? What have they learnt? And how is all this activity going to impact traditional healthcare institutions, the nature of care services, and the pace of health technology innovation?
The Crafted Creative Team was lucky enough to attend UX Cambridge, a community-driven, practical User Experience conference. All of the team found both days extremely useful, with some strong themes running across the two days.
If you weren’t able to make this year’s conference, or just want a recap of the main topics covered, our Creative Team have put together a detailed round-up of the event for you to download and share.
Prepared for EF Advancement as a mini-workshop for their students interested in taking their career to the next level.
This is a 2 hour presentation including a two hour type self-selection and introduction to a personal hedgehog model.
The Crafted Creative Team was lucky enough to attend UX Cambridge, a community-driven, practical User Experience conference. All of the team found both days extremely useful, with some strong themes running across the two days.
If you weren’t able to make this year’s conference, or just want a recap of the main topics covered, our Creative Team have put together a detailed round-up of the event for you to download and share.
Prepared for EF Advancement as a mini-workshop for their students interested in taking their career to the next level.
This is a 2 hour presentation including a two hour type self-selection and introduction to a personal hedgehog model.
Healthcare Innovation Now: 3 themes and 10 insights.frog
frog’s Executive Creative Director Fabio Sergio builds a strong case at Mobile Health Industry Summit 2011 in Brussels about why healthcare solutions should be ecosystem-based and designed around people, not "just" patients.
LinkedIn Lunch and Learn Presented by Ryan Swindall (@swinrs) from AccellionRyan Swindall
A short presentation on LinkedIn and how to get started, a few thoughts on being effective with this digital tool, and a few thoughts on the costs and benefits of the service.
Pharma and Social Media: What's the New Normal?Steve Woodruff
When considering the role of social media in the pharma/healthcare industry, it is best to step back and grasp the overall trends shaping the way we now communicate. What is the New Normal?
Mobile devices and applications in healthcare: Security and Compliance Risksdata brackets
Recent HHS analysis of reported breaches indicates that almost 40% of large breaches involve lost or stolen devices.” Majority of these devices are laptops, smart phones, etc., This 50-minute webinar will focus on how to effectively comply and secure mobile devices in healthcare industry.
Relinquishing Control: Creating Space for Open Innovationfrog
frog Creative Director Thomas Sutton spoke on the main stage at the Lift conference in Geneva, Switzerland on February 2. His presentation is about cultivating empty spaces for open innovation to understand what people need and want from their products.
On the future of healthcare - it’s less about being sick, more about staying well & healthy - the ages of Genomic medicine and Self monitoring will lead to healthcare which becomes consumer-driven, engaging, addictive, fun and social – in short: Precise, Participatory, Predictive & Preventive
Macedonia Tourism - Opportunities, Challange and Trends | Dr Prem Jagyasi | D...Dr Prem Jagyasi
Macedonia has great potential to promote itself as tourism destination, despite of efforts from both public and private organization currently Macedonia hasnt reached to full potential. This presentation through lights on current trends, challenges and opportunities for Macedonia Tourism Industry.
invited talk at iPHEM16, Innovation in Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine, Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Trust, July 2016, Brighton, United Kingdom
Healthcare Innovation Now: 3 themes and 10 insights.frog
frog’s Executive Creative Director Fabio Sergio builds a strong case at Mobile Health Industry Summit 2011 in Brussels about why healthcare solutions should be ecosystem-based and designed around people, not "just" patients.
LinkedIn Lunch and Learn Presented by Ryan Swindall (@swinrs) from AccellionRyan Swindall
A short presentation on LinkedIn and how to get started, a few thoughts on being effective with this digital tool, and a few thoughts on the costs and benefits of the service.
Pharma and Social Media: What's the New Normal?Steve Woodruff
When considering the role of social media in the pharma/healthcare industry, it is best to step back and grasp the overall trends shaping the way we now communicate. What is the New Normal?
Mobile devices and applications in healthcare: Security and Compliance Risksdata brackets
Recent HHS analysis of reported breaches indicates that almost 40% of large breaches involve lost or stolen devices.” Majority of these devices are laptops, smart phones, etc., This 50-minute webinar will focus on how to effectively comply and secure mobile devices in healthcare industry.
Relinquishing Control: Creating Space for Open Innovationfrog
frog Creative Director Thomas Sutton spoke on the main stage at the Lift conference in Geneva, Switzerland on February 2. His presentation is about cultivating empty spaces for open innovation to understand what people need and want from their products.
On the future of healthcare - it’s less about being sick, more about staying well & healthy - the ages of Genomic medicine and Self monitoring will lead to healthcare which becomes consumer-driven, engaging, addictive, fun and social – in short: Precise, Participatory, Predictive & Preventive
Macedonia Tourism - Opportunities, Challange and Trends | Dr Prem Jagyasi | D...Dr Prem Jagyasi
Macedonia has great potential to promote itself as tourism destination, despite of efforts from both public and private organization currently Macedonia hasnt reached to full potential. This presentation through lights on current trends, challenges and opportunities for Macedonia Tourism Industry.
invited talk at iPHEM16, Innovation in Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine, Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Trust, July 2016, Brighton, United Kingdom
Novel Approaches for Patient Engagement Through Technology Nov 2013Rajiv Mehta
Presented at "Patient Engagement in Clinical Trials" scientific think tank / work group meeting, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV.
For well over 99% of our lives, we take care of our own health. The formal healthcare system is rarely present. And yet, very little technology has been developed focused on helping us take care of ourselves. In this keynote, presented in Stockholm, Sweden at "Health Hack Day" May 2013, I offer a framework for mapping our self-care/family-care activities, and the opportunities for technology to make a difference.
A video of the talk and Q&A is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdOwmO32Qg
HIC2012 Outfitting Families for Caregiving JourneysRajiv Mehta
When outfitting an expedition, one has to plan for everything: from the rare but potentially catastrophic dangers (raging lions, swollen rivers, thunderous storms) to the mundane, commonplace annoyances (fleas, thorns, thirst, hunger) that can be just as deadly. Caregiving is also often a long and difficult journey. There are harrowing crises mixed in with the mundane challenges of everyday caregiving. Both can be overwhelming, but the latter has been neglected. We can and must do better in outfitting caregivers — with technologies, services and support — for all aspects of their journey.
At Australia's Health Informatics Conference 2012 in Sydney, I gave a keynote address on "Outfitting Families for Caregiving Journeys" highlighting the importance and challenges of dealing with the mundane aspects of caregiving -- the overwhelming, and seemingly never-ending, torrent of widely varying, trivial tasks shared amongst a loose network of family and friends. Through stories of actual caregiving situations I make these issues "real". In the talk I also describe my own efforts over the past few years to address this issue, and the opportunity for healthcare professionals to better prepare families for caregiving crises via addressing the mundane.
Presentation at SVForum Mobile Internet SIG event on mHealth (August 4, 2011) — the self-quantification movement; survey of tools for tracking personal health; the commonplace complexity of health and the need to track a wide variety of health issues & activities; and an overview of the Tonic self care app.
Taming Complexity: Making self care easierRajiv Mehta
Presentation of Tonic at "Mobile Health 2011: What Really Works" conference at Stanford, where Tonic was winner of "Best Mobile Health Solution for Behavior Change"
On the potential to dramatically improve health, healthcare and medical science by harnessing petabytes of data from individuals taking care of their own health, and on the necessary shifts in mindset required.
Reframing Health as more than Health-careRajiv Mehta
Recognizing the importance of self-management and the role individuals have in designing their own well-being.
Presented at BayCHI, 9 March 2010
Significantly improving the design of product and services for health requires a dramatic shift in thinking, from a paternalistic view of patient to a respectful view of person, and from a narrow goal of alleviating sickness to a holistic goal of supporting wellbeing. Noting that it is a wicked problem, we will expand the frame of health from traditional health-care to a resource for living. We will describe the varied challenges people face in executing their self-defined health self-management efforts and in conducting tiny self-experiments. Finally we will discuss the required change in design approach, challenging designers to focus on meta-design and to enable users to be the ultimate designers of their own health & wellness systems
Prix Galien International 2024 Forum ProgramLevi Shapiro
June 20, 2024, Prix Galien International and Jerusalem Ethics Forum in ROME. Detailed agenda including panels:
- ADVANCES IN CARDIOLOGY: A NEW PARADIGM IS COMING
- WOMEN’S HEALTH: FERTILITY PRESERVATION
- WHAT’S NEW IN THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIOUS,
ONCOLOGICAL AND INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASES?
- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ETHICS
- GENE THERAPY
- BEYOND BORDERS: GLOBAL INITIATIVES FOR DEMOCRATIZING LIFE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROMOTING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE
- ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN LIFE SCIENCES
- Prix Galien International Awards Ceremony
Pulmonary Thromboembolism - etilogy, types, medical- Surgical and nursing man...VarunMahajani
Disruption of blood supply to lung alveoli due to blockage of one or more pulmonary blood vessels is called as Pulmonary thromboembolism. In this presentation we will discuss its causes, types and its management in depth.
Flu Vaccine Alert in Bangalore Karnatakaaddon Scans
As flu season approaches, health officials in Bangalore, Karnataka, are urging residents to get their flu vaccinations. The seasonal flu, while common, can lead to severe health complications, particularly for vulnerable populations such as young children, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.
Dr. Vidisha Kumari, a leading epidemiologist in Bangalore, emphasizes the importance of getting vaccinated. "The flu vaccine is our best defense against the influenza virus. It not only protects individuals but also helps prevent the spread of the virus in our communities," he says.
This year, the flu season is expected to coincide with a potential increase in other respiratory illnesses. The Karnataka Health Department has launched an awareness campaign highlighting the significance of flu vaccinations. They have set up multiple vaccination centers across Bangalore, making it convenient for residents to receive their shots.
To encourage widespread vaccination, the government is also collaborating with local schools, workplaces, and community centers to facilitate vaccination drives. Special attention is being given to ensuring that the vaccine is accessible to all, including marginalized communities who may have limited access to healthcare.
Residents are reminded that the flu vaccine is safe and effective. Common side effects are mild and may include soreness at the injection site, mild fever, or muscle aches. These side effects are generally short-lived and far less severe than the flu itself.
Healthcare providers are also stressing the importance of continuing COVID-19 precautions. Wearing masks, practicing good hand hygiene, and maintaining social distancing are still crucial, especially in crowded places.
Protect yourself and your loved ones by getting vaccinated. Together, we can help keep Bangalore healthy and safe this flu season. For more information on vaccination centers and schedules, residents can visit the Karnataka Health Department’s official website or follow their social media pages.
Stay informed, stay safe, and get your flu shot today!
New Directions in Targeted Therapeutic Approaches for Older Adults With Mantl...i3 Health
i3 Health is pleased to make the speaker slides from this activity available for use as a non-accredited self-study or teaching resource.
This slide deck presented by Dr. Kami Maddocks, Professor-Clinical in the Division of Hematology and
Associate Division Director for Ambulatory Operations
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, will provide insight into new directions in targeted therapeutic approaches for older adults with mantle cell lymphoma.
STATEMENT OF NEED
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare, aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) accounting for 5% to 7% of all lymphomas. Its prognosis ranges from indolent disease that does not require treatment for years to very aggressive disease, which is associated with poor survival (Silkenstedt et al, 2021). Typically, MCL is diagnosed at advanced stage and in older patients who cannot tolerate intensive therapy (NCCN, 2022). Although recent advances have slightly increased remission rates, recurrence and relapse remain very common, leading to a median overall survival between 3 and 6 years (LLS, 2021). Though there are several effective options, progress is still needed towards establishing an accepted frontline approach for MCL (Castellino et al, 2022). Treatment selection and management of MCL are complicated by the heterogeneity of prognosis, advanced age and comorbidities of patients, and lack of an established standard approach for treatment, making it vital that clinicians be familiar with the latest research and advances in this area. In this activity chaired by Michael Wang, MD, Professor in the Department of Lymphoma & Myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center, expert faculty will discuss prognostic factors informing treatment, the promising results of recent trials in new therapeutic approaches, and the implications of treatment resistance in therapeutic selection for MCL.
Target Audience
Hematology/oncology fellows, attending faculty, and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
Learning Objectives
1.) Identify clinical and biological prognostic factors that can guide treatment decision making for older adults with MCL
2.) Evaluate emerging data on targeted therapeutic approaches for treatment-naive and relapsed/refractory MCL and their applicability to older adults
3.) Assess mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies for MCL and their implications for treatment selection
These lecture slides, by Dr Sidra Arshad, offer a quick overview of physiological basis of a normal electrocardiogram.
Learning objectives:
1. Define an electrocardiogram (ECG) and electrocardiography
2. Describe how dipoles generated by the heart produce the waveforms of the ECG
3. Describe the components of a normal electrocardiogram of a typical bipolar leads (limb II)
4. Differentiate between intervals and segments
5. Enlist some common indications for obtaining an ECG
Study Resources:
1. Chapter 11, Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 14th edition
2. Chapter 9, Human Physiology - From Cells to Systems, Lauralee Sherwood, 9th edition
3. Chapter 29, Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology, 26th edition
4. Electrocardiogram, StatPearls - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549803/
5. ECG in Medical Practice by ABM Abdullah, 4th edition
6. ECG Basics, http://www.nataliescasebook.com/tag/e-c-g-basics
Title: Sense of Smell
Presenter: Dr. Faiza, Assistant Professor of Physiology
Qualifications:
MBBS (Best Graduate, AIMC Lahore)
FCPS Physiology
ICMT, CHPE, DHPE (STMU)
MPH (GC University, Faisalabad)
MBA (Virtual University of Pakistan)
Learning Objectives:
Describe the primary categories of smells and the concept of odor blindness.
Explain the structure and location of the olfactory membrane and mucosa, including the types and roles of cells involved in olfaction.
Describe the pathway and mechanisms of olfactory signal transmission from the olfactory receptors to the brain.
Illustrate the biochemical cascade triggered by odorant binding to olfactory receptors, including the role of G-proteins and second messengers in generating an action potential.
Identify different types of olfactory disorders such as anosmia, hyposmia, hyperosmia, and dysosmia, including their potential causes.
Key Topics:
Olfactory Genes:
3% of the human genome accounts for olfactory genes.
400 genes for odorant receptors.
Olfactory Membrane:
Located in the superior part of the nasal cavity.
Medially: Folds downward along the superior septum.
Laterally: Folds over the superior turbinate and upper surface of the middle turbinate.
Total surface area: 5-10 square centimeters.
Olfactory Mucosa:
Olfactory Cells: Bipolar nerve cells derived from the CNS (100 million), with 4-25 olfactory cilia per cell.
Sustentacular Cells: Produce mucus and maintain ionic and molecular environment.
Basal Cells: Replace worn-out olfactory cells with an average lifespan of 1-2 months.
Bowman’s Gland: Secretes mucus.
Stimulation of Olfactory Cells:
Odorant dissolves in mucus and attaches to receptors on olfactory cilia.
Involves a cascade effect through G-proteins and second messengers, leading to depolarization and action potential generation in the olfactory nerve.
Quality of a Good Odorant:
Small (3-20 Carbon atoms), volatile, water-soluble, and lipid-soluble.
Facilitated by odorant-binding proteins in mucus.
Membrane Potential and Action Potential:
Resting membrane potential: -55mV.
Action potential frequency in the olfactory nerve increases with odorant strength.
Adaptation Towards the Sense of Smell:
Rapid adaptation within the first second, with further slow adaptation.
Psychological adaptation greater than receptor adaptation, involving feedback inhibition from the central nervous system.
Primary Sensations of Smell:
Camphoraceous, Musky, Floral, Pepperminty, Ethereal, Pungent, Putrid.
Odor Detection Threshold:
Examples: Hydrogen sulfide (0.0005 ppm), Methyl-mercaptan (0.002 ppm).
Some toxic substances are odorless at lethal concentrations.
Characteristics of Smell:
Odor blindness for single substances due to lack of appropriate receptor protein.
Behavioral and emotional influences of smell.
Transmission of Olfactory Signals:
From olfactory cells to glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, involving lateral inhibition.
Primitive, less old, and new olfactory systems with different path
Ozempic: Preoperative Management of Patients on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Saeid Safari
Preoperative Management of Patients on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists like Ozempic and Semiglutide
ASA GUIDELINE
NYSORA Guideline
2 Case Reports of Gastric Ultrasound
Acute scrotum is a general term referring to an emergency condition affecting the contents or the wall of the scrotum.
There are a number of conditions that present acutely, predominantly with pain and/or swelling
A careful and detailed history and examination, and in some cases, investigations allow differentiation between these diagnoses. A prompt diagnosis is essential as the patient may require urgent surgical intervention
Testicular torsion refers to twisting of the spermatic cord, causing ischaemia of the testicle.
Testicular torsion results from inadequate fixation of the testis to the tunica vaginalis producing ischemia from reduced arterial inflow and venous outflow obstruction.
The prevalence of testicular torsion in adult patients hospitalized with acute scrotal pain is approximately 25 to 50 percent
New Drug Discovery and Development .....NEHA GUPTA
The "New Drug Discovery and Development" process involves the identification, design, testing, and manufacturing of novel pharmaceutical compounds with the aim of introducing new and improved treatments for various medical conditions. This comprehensive endeavor encompasses various stages, including target identification, preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory approval, and post-market surveillance. It involves multidisciplinary collaboration among scientists, researchers, clinicians, regulatory experts, and pharmaceutical companies to bring innovative therapies to market and address unmet medical needs.
Title: Sense of Taste
Presenter: Dr. Faiza, Assistant Professor of Physiology
Qualifications:
MBBS (Best Graduate, AIMC Lahore)
FCPS Physiology
ICMT, CHPE, DHPE (STMU)
MPH (GC University, Faisalabad)
MBA (Virtual University of Pakistan)
Learning Objectives:
Describe the structure and function of taste buds.
Describe the relationship between the taste threshold and taste index of common substances.
Explain the chemical basis and signal transduction of taste perception for each type of primary taste sensation.
Recognize different abnormalities of taste perception and their causes.
Key Topics:
Significance of Taste Sensation:
Differentiation between pleasant and harmful food
Influence on behavior
Selection of food based on metabolic needs
Receptors of Taste:
Taste buds on the tongue
Influence of sense of smell, texture of food, and pain stimulation (e.g., by pepper)
Primary and Secondary Taste Sensations:
Primary taste sensations: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Umami
Chemical basis and signal transduction mechanisms for each taste
Taste Threshold and Index:
Taste threshold values for Sweet (sucrose), Salty (NaCl), Sour (HCl), and Bitter (Quinine)
Taste index relationship: Inversely proportional to taste threshold
Taste Blindness:
Inability to taste certain substances, particularly thiourea compounds
Example: Phenylthiocarbamide
Structure and Function of Taste Buds:
Composition: Epithelial cells, Sustentacular/Supporting cells, Taste cells, Basal cells
Features: Taste pores, Taste hairs/microvilli, and Taste nerve fibers
Location of Taste Buds:
Found in papillae of the tongue (Fungiform, Circumvallate, Foliate)
Also present on the palate, tonsillar pillars, epiglottis, and proximal esophagus
Mechanism of Taste Stimulation:
Interaction of taste substances with receptors on microvilli
Signal transduction pathways for Umami, Sweet, Bitter, Sour, and Salty tastes
Taste Sensitivity and Adaptation:
Decrease in sensitivity with age
Rapid adaptation of taste sensation
Role of Saliva in Taste:
Dissolution of tastants to reach receptors
Washing away the stimulus
Taste Preferences and Aversions:
Mechanisms behind taste preference and aversion
Influence of receptors and neural pathways
Impact of Sensory Nerve Damage:
Degeneration of taste buds if the sensory nerve fiber is cut
Abnormalities of Taste Detection:
Conditions: Ageusia, Hypogeusia, Dysgeusia (parageusia)
Causes: Nerve damage, neurological disorders, infections, poor oral hygiene, adverse drug effects, deficiencies, aging, tobacco use, altered neurotransmitter levels
Neurotransmitters and Taste Threshold:
Effects of serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) on taste sensitivity
Supertasters:
25% of the population with heightened sensitivity to taste, especially bitterness
Increased number of fungiform papillae
Ethanol (CH3CH2OH), or beverage alcohol, is a two-carbon alcohol
that is rapidly distributed in the body and brain. Ethanol alters many
neurochemical systems and has rewarding and addictive properties. It
is the oldest recreational drug and likely contributes to more morbidity,
mortality, and public health costs than all illicit drugs combined. The
5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-5) integrates alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence into a single
disorder called alcohol use disorder (AUD), with mild, moderate,
and severe subclassifications (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
In the DSM-5, all types of substance abuse and dependence have been
combined into a single substance use disorder (SUD) on a continuum
from mild to severe. A diagnosis of AUD requires that at least two of
the 11 DSM-5 behaviors be present within a 12-month period (mild
AUD: 2–3 criteria; moderate AUD: 4–5 criteria; severe AUD: 6–11 criteria).
The four main behavioral effects of AUD are impaired control over
drinking, negative social consequences, risky use, and altered physiological
effects (tolerance, withdrawal). This chapter presents an overview
of the prevalence and harmful consequences of AUD in the U.S.,
the systemic nature of the disease, neurocircuitry and stages of AUD,
comorbidities, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, genetic risk factors, and
pharmacotherapies for AUD.
Phone Us ❤85270-49040❤ #ℂall #gIRLS In Surat By Surat @ℂall @Girls Hotel With...
HIC2012 The Future of Healthcare: Innovation at the Edge
1. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Thank you … for the introduction.!
!
As mentioned, I’m here representing
Quantified Self. I’d especially like to thank
the Health Informatics Society of Australia
for their boldness in extending this
invitation. You see, Quantified Self has
been covered by major news
organizations such as the Economist
magazine and the Guardian newspaper,
but usually with a tone of “Aren’t these
people odd?” To be invited to share some
thoughts on an important topic … it’s a
nice change.!
!
“The Future of Healthcare” Well …
predicting the future … tricky stuff.
Chances are, no matter what you say,
you’re likely to be wrong. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
1
2. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Computer scientist Alan Kay famously said
“The best way to predict the future is to
invent it.” This seems to work for a few
people.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
2
3. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Another way is to consider author William
Gibson’s claim that “The future is already
here — it’s just not very evenly
distributed.”!
!
What this means is that ...!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
3
4. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
… somebody, somewhere is already doing
something, out on the fringes of society,
that in the future will be commonplace.
The challenge then is knowing where to
look.!
!
I think I have come across a few of these
somebodies. Let me tell you about them.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
4
5. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
I’ll begin with someone from right here.
Well, Melbourne actually.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
5
6. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
A year ago, in 2011, entrepreneur Jeremy
Howard attended the Beijing Language
University, the top language school in
China. He was placed amongst other
advanced students, …!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
6
7. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
and three months later finished first in his
class. What made this especially notable
was that Jeremy had only been learning
Chinese for one year to that point, while
most of his classmates had been studying
for much longer, and that he was self-
taught.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
7
8. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
His study was sparked by an article he
read in Wired magazine, about the work of
Piotr Wozniak of Poland on the best way
to memorize material, an approach called
spaced repetition learning. !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
8
9. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
The basic idea is that there is an ideal
moment to re-learn something. Wait too
long and you’ve completely forgotten, and
so you are starting over. Re-learn too
quickly and you’re just wasting your time.
Ideally you re-learn just before you are
about to forget. If you can do that, you will
forget more slowly the next time, and so
the time for the next re-learning will be
longer. The difficulty is in knowing when
this right moment is, as it varies not just
from person to person, but also from item
to item. However, you can use a computer
program to track your learning and to tell
you the right moment to re-learn the
material. Jeremy decided to test this idea
by trying to learn Chinese. Obviously it
worked!!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
9
10. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
One of the benefits of using such a
program is that you can track your
learning. You can gather statistics on your
performance, such as how well you recall
material, or how quickly you answer
questions. Jeremy used these statistics to
understand his own learning patterns, and
the influence of environmental factors.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
10
11. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
For example, he found that he learned
better when walking slowly on a treadmill
— 1.2 mph at a 1 degree incline — than
sitting at his desk. While walking he was
able to memorize better, and he was able
to concentrate for much longer.!
!
In fact, he discovered that this didn’t just
apply to learning Chinese. He found that
his mind generally worked better, that he
was able to do more and better work,
when walking than sitting. It turns out the
treadmill was good not just for physical
health, but for his mental performance as
well. So, he’s purchased many treadmill-
desks for the employees in his company.
He’ll soon discover whether treadmills are
good for productivity generally, or
something unique to him.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
11
12. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Jeremy told this story a few months ago at
a meeting in Silicon Valley of the
Quantified Self. This group was started by
journalist Gary Wolf, the author of the story
that sparked Jeremy’s learning Chinese.!
!
The Quantified Self is a global
collaboration of users and makers of
tracking tools. It is full of people, like
Jeremy, who track various aspects of their
lives with the expectation that they’ll learn
something about themselves and perhaps
use that knowledge to improve their lives
in some way. On one hand it is a very
modern phenomenon, the result of the
wide availability of powerful and tiny and
inexpensive computers. On the other
hand, philosophers such as the Buddha
have long been advising us to be mindful,
to be self-aware. People are simply using
new technology to assist their
mindfulness.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
12
13. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
The first meeting of the Quantified Self
took place in September 2008, in a home
in a San Francisco suburb. About 30 of us
were there, pleased and somewhat
surprised to discover that there were
others with a similar interest. We have
been even more surprised to see how
rapidly this has grown. We now have over
60 groups around the world, including one
right here in Sydney.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
13
14. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
People come to the meetings to share
stories of personal self-tracking
experiments. They address three simple
questions. They tell us what they tracked
and why. How they did it — what tools they
used to collect and analyze their data. And
what they learned. The answers are often
surprising.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
14
15. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Another recent speaker was Sky
Christopherson. Sky had once been an
elite athlete. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
15
16. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
At the age of 19 he was a US national
champion in velodrome cycling, he was
part of the US Olympics team in Atlanta in
1996 and Sydney in 2000, and had been
ranked 4th in the world. In preparation for
those Olympics he had participated in the
most sophisticated training program in
sports, at the time, where they measured
every aspect of his performance, training
and life as well as they could, and
developed training programs tailored for
each event.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
16
17. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Some years later, in 2006, he started a
business and approached the company’s
performance with the same mindset —
measuring everything and working hard to
optimize every aspect of his business. The
relentless pursuit of business performance
led to business success, but his health
suffered. Within a year he had many, many
health complaints, from joint pain to
bleeding gums to a low sex drive. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
17
18. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Things kept getting worse, and at one
point he found himself being rushed to the
hospital in an ambulance with the medics
wondering whether he had suffered a
heart attack. The doctors suggested a long
list of interventions for his long list of
ailments. Especially for someone who had
once been in fantastic shape, this was a
hard pill to swallow.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
18
19. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Fortuitously he heard a talk by Dr Eric
Topol about the new tools available for
self-tracking, reminding of his Olympic
training, …!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
19
20. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
and he decided to embark on a year of
intensive data gathering. Collecting data
on sleep, diet, exercise, and general well-
being.!
!
On sleep he was able to see data about
when he went to bed and when he woke
up, and how much of that time he was
awake, in REM sleep, and in deep sleep.
The data itself was motivational — if he
could see a number, he could tap into his
competitive instincts to improve the
number. The data also helped him
experiment, and he soon made lifestyle
changes that stabilized his sleep.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
20
21. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
However, over several months, from
January to June, he also noticed a steady
decline in the amount of deep sleep. After
considering various potential causes, he
decided it had to do with the weather, that
it was the result of the room getting
warmer as he didn’t have air conditioning. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
21
22. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Sky got a cooling pad, a temperature
controlled pad that goes underneath the
sheets. And soon discovered that with a
setting of 66° Fahrenheit his deep sleep
went up significantly.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
22
23. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
After another year, due to the combination
of improvements to sleep, diet, etc., he
had an almost complete reversal of
symptoms. So much so that last year, at
the age of 35, he set a new world record
for track cycling.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
23
24. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
It is worth noting that Sky’s self-monitoring,
using his own funds and widely available
technologies, is in many ways far more
comprehensive, and results in far more
personally tailored wellness regimens,
than the best-that-money-could-buy for his
Olympics training only 10 years earlier.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
24
25. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
He is now applying all that he has learned
about self-tracking, and about the new
tools available, to help other athletes
improve their performance. He’d thought
of calling his new business the Quantified
Athlete, but eventually chose the
Optimized Athlete. Much better from a
marketing perspective! He’s been helping
many athletes prepare for the Olympics.
We’ll see, over the next couple of weeks,
whether he’s had an impact.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
25
26. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
The Quantified Self … or rather the self-
tracking movement it exemplifies … and
the potential impact it may have for the
future of healthcare is the focus of my talk
today.!
!
To frame that potential, let’s go back nearly
40 years, to another meeting in Silicon
Valley, to another group of hobbyists. It
was March 1975, and it was the first
meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club.
These computer hobbyists had a mission. !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
26
27. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
At a time when only elite universities and
large corporations could afford computers,
when only professionals in lab coats
ensconced in special rooms had access to
computers, they dreamed of making
computing personal. They dreamed of
liberating computing for the masses.!
!
One of the attendees at that first meeting
was Steve Wozniack. Three months later,
inspired by what he saw and heard that
day, he had built a working personal
computer. Ten months later, he and a
friend named Steve Jobs founded Apple
Computer.!
!
The Homebrew hobbyists foresaw and led
a movement to change computing from
the province of a limited elite to a tool for
the masses.!
!
And they changed the world.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
27
28. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
There had indeed been a lot of innovation
in the past from the centers of computing,
from the academics at universities like
Princeton and Stanford, and researchers
at corporations like IBM and Bell Labs.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
28
29. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
But, the personal computing revolution
unleashed the power of creativity
everywhere. Lone geniuses and creative
students the world over have dramatically
increased the pace of innovation. In
addition to Jobs &Wozniack, here are
some other companies started by
innovators outside the centers of power.!
!
Not everything can be done in a garage or
in a college dorm room of course. Some
things require the financial resources that
only large institutions can provide. But
those companies, which started as fringe
projects, have become very mainstream.
And the innovation occurring at the edge,
where millions of people are
experimenting, continues to have a
powerful impact.!
!
Similarly, the self-tracking movement is
liberating health science, moving health
science from professional lab-coats to the
masses.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
29
30. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Innovation in ideas and tools that further
health and well-being has come, for much
of the last century, from centers of the
healthcare profession. In the US, that’s
been from the 150 medical schools, !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
30
31. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
from the 7,000 hospitals and clinics, !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
31
32. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
from the 700,000 doctors, !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
32
33. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
from the 7,000,000 health professionals.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
33
34. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
By contrast, in the US there are roughly
300,000,000 people who, by design or
otherwise, are constantly experimenting
with their health. We might all learn a lot
as people like Jeremy and Sky experiment
and as others invent.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
34
35. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Yoni Donner is an inventor. Yoni is
pursuing a PhD at Stanford, studying
machine learning and artificial intelligence,
while also working at Google. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
35
36. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
A few years ago he became interested in
the topic of cognitive performance. He
surveyed the tools that have been
developed over the past 50 years for
measuring cognitive performance and
found that nothing quite addressed what
he wanted to do. The existing tools were
good for comparing groups, for developing
population norms, but weren’t good for
measuring small changes, for intra-
personal and day-to-day variation.!
!
He wanted to understand his mental
performance at a much more granular
level. He didn’t simply want to know
whether he was smarter than average. He
wanted to know the impact of different
meals or different hours of the day on how
well his mind worked.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
36
37. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
So, he spent a couple of years designing
and developing such tools. He has made
them available to all at a website called
Quantified Mind. Think of these tools as
short simple video games. His challenge in
creating these tools was to balance
competing goals. The games had to take
very little time, so that one could fit them
into normal life, but they also had to
generate meaningful data. They had to be
simple to play, but also had to minimize
learning effects, so that they are useful
through frequent and ongoing use.!
!
Yoni has developed about 25 such games
so far, and is constantly working on more.
A wide variety of cognitive domains —
processing speed, motor function, context
switching, memory, visuo-spatial acuity,
etc. — are tested through simple games. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
37
38. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
One tool is “choice reaction time”. There
are three circles on the screen. The circles
randomly light up in green, and you press
the appropriate key 1, 2 or 3. This goes on
for a couple of minutes. At the end of
which you get some statistics on your
performance — how quickly you
responded and how many mistakes you
made. It’s quite simple, but do it at the end
of a long day and you’ll find it is also quite
effective at detecting your tiredness.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
38
39. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Another
tool
is
“sor-ng”.
There
are
four
images:
one
red
snail,
two
green
jelly
fish,
three
blue
whales,
and
four
yellow
dinosaurs.
Another
image
appears
below
and
you’re
asked
to
match
something
—
the
color,
the
number
OR
the
species
—
and
press
the
appropriate
key
1,
2,
3,
or
4.
In
this
case
you’re
asked
to
match
the
color,
so
you’d
press
3.
It
turns
out
that
this
is
much
harder
than
it
seems.
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
39
40. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
He decided to use his own tool to prove
something about himself that he was quite
confident about: that his work
performance, the quality of his
programming, was much better when he
skipped lunch. He wanted to prove that he
wasn’t being unsociable; he was being
smart.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
40
41. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Turns out he was wrong. He performed
more poorly when he fasted. This chart
shows the results of a simple motor-
function test — how rapidly he could tap
the space bar. Faster tapping means a
higher bar. Blue is when he had lunch;
green is when he did not. He did the
exercise with both left and right hands. For
his right hand, on average he did 7.1 taps
per second with lunch, and about 6.7 taps
per second without. The difference is
slight, a fraction of a second slower, but
consistent, as you can see from the error
bars.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
41
42. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Here are the results from the “choice
reaction time” test — the one with the
three circles. A faster response time is a
shorter bar. Again blue is with lunch, and
green is without. This metric also shows
that he was slower when he fasted.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
42
43. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
But there’s more. The tools measure a
variety of cognitive functions, not just
speed, and it turns out that his
performance — fasting versus eating —
depended on the type of task to be
performed. If the work involved critical
thinking, something complicated that he
had to think through carefully, fasting was
detrimental. On the other hand, if the task
was mundane and monotonous he would
actually perform better if he fasted. Now,
he is able to tailor his lunch to the work he
has to do.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
43
44. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Others are now taking advantage of Yoni’s
tools to conduct their own experiments,
evaluating the impact of sleep, diet,
exercise, and many other things on their
cognitive performance.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
44
45. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Alex Grey is another young inventor. At an
early age he became familiar with surface
electromyography, a noninvasive method
of quantifying muscle activity by
measuring the muscle’s electrical output.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
45
46. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
This technology is used widely. Sensors
are placed on appropriate muscles, and
the electrical activity is recorded. It is used
to study muscle movements large and
small, and to treat injuries for everyone
from athletes to musicians.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
46
47. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Alex’s parents ran a clinic which used such
technology to help treat people with
repetitive strain injury and other such
muscular chronic pain. This diagram
shows the amount of muscle energy used
for hand writing and using a computer
mouse before and after treatment. He
personally benefited from his parent’s
expertise when he himself developed an
issue as he was growing up.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
47
48. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Years later, Alex decided to start a
company to broaden the use of sEMG
technology. Current sEMG systems are
expensive, and they’re confined to lab use
— you saw all those wires. He believes
such technology could have a much bigger
impact if we can get it out of the lab and
into everyday use. !
!
Alex set himself a challenging goal: to
design an sEMG system that would be
usable in the real world — something that
could readily be worn while going about
normal life, something that was small,
light, comfortable, and without wires. And,
it had to be inexpensive. His company
Somaxis has created such a sensor. !
!
The quality of data his sensor collects isn’t
as good as the laboratory equipment, but it
is proving to be more than adequate. Most
importantly the data is obtained in real-
world conditions.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
48
49. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
In this simple example, Alex put a sensor
on his left and right thighs and went for a
run. As he got tired, the change showed
up clearly in what the sensors record.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
49
50. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
With more sophisticated experiments, he
has learned interesting things about
himself. For example, he wondered for a
given running speed, what cadence or
stride rate would use the least amount of
energy, and so delay the onset of fatigue.
He created an audio track of snippets of
ever faster music, and then ran on a
treadmill at constant speed. As the music
got faster, he would have to take shorter
steps to match his cadence to the rhythm.
He wore sensors on the quadriceps,
hamstrings, and calves of both legs, and
combined these measurements for an
overall score on the amount of energy he
was expending. He discovered that when
running at 6.5 mph, a comfortable speed
for him, he used the least energy at a
cadence of 130 bpm.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
50
51. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Alex’s technology has attracted the
attention of professional athletes. They
want to discover their own particular
efficient motions to improve their
performance. Alex is also starting to apply
his technology to the very same people his
parents treated, people such as office
workers who hurt themselves from too
much typing or writing. These workers will
be able to learn directly, sitting at their own
desks, how to minimize their strain.!
!
The technology is also starting to find
interest in unexpected places. I’ll tell you
more about that in a moment.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
51
52. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Alex and Yoni and Jeremy and Sky … just
a few of those whose efforts are currently
at the edge, at the fringes of healthcare.!
!
How are such efforts going to impact the
future of healthcare? !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
52
53. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
For one thing, it will move us from talking
about “patient” empowerment, to
“personal” empowerment. !
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
53
54. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
A patient only exists as a client of a health
professional. A person exists on his own,
whether or not a health professional is in
the picture. Much patient-oriented health
innovation assumes a professional
presence, professional supervision. Tools
for personal health empowerment assume
that the person himself leads and chooses
who else he brings into the picture.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
54
55. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Similarly, we talk about “personalized
medicine” as something in which the
health professional has detailed data
about his patient that he uses to make
better decisions. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
55
56. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
In contrast “personal medicine” is about
the person himself having detailed data
about his condition that he uses to make
his own decisions.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
56
57. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Much health research aspires to know
what works, what makes a statistically
significant difference, to some group of
people. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
57
58. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
In contrast self-tracking is about
discovering what works for me, what
makes a difference to me, in my life, right
now … whether or not it is good for
anyone else.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
58
59. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
We’re talking about health innovations
being developed for use by individuals by
themselves. !
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
59
60. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Does this mean that healthcare
professionals are optional? Well, yes and
no. In all aspects of life we turn to experts
when we believe such expertise is
valuable. Most of us are unlikely to set a
broken bone, do surgery, or deal with
cancer by ourselves. But, for day-to-day
health there will be less and less
inclination to “consult your doctor first”.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
60
61. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Some may argue that these people at the
edge, these so-called innovators are
amateurs, who don’t know what they’re
doing and whose work should have no
place in the health profession.!
!
Others might feel that their experiments
are risky. That without proper supervision
from health experts such experimenters
might hurt themselves.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
61
62. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Many point out obvious and legitimate
concerns about the quality of such self-
experimentation. And they’re right. Many,
perhaps most, of the self-experiments I
come across are flawed in some important
ways. And often the results are
inconsequential. But, to point out the
obvious, so is much formal science. Let us
hope that overall scientific-literacy is
higher in future generations.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
62
63. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
True breakthroughs are rare. Earlier in my
talk when I noted some of the very
successful technology companies that
were started by amateurs I neglected to
mention that there were tens of thousands
of similar efforts that failed.!
!
However, true breakthroughs do exist.
There are diamonds amongst the failures,
people such as those I’ve told you about.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
63
64. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
The arguments about the amateurishness
of much self-tracking efforts are also
besides the point.!
!
I believe it is inevitable that such tools and
such self-experimentation will become
ever more mainstream. Technology —
sensors, smartphones, web access —
continues to become cheaper, faster, and
more widely available. Information, and
admittedly mis-information, is everywhere.
And skepticism about expert knowledge
and bias is increasing. All leading to
greater self-experimentation, self-direction.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
64
65. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
With all this innovation going on at the
edge, how can the core healthcare
industry play a part? Even if these
changes are inevitable, what can you do to
influence the changes?!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
65
66. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
First of all, you’ve got to follow, you’ve got
to know, what’s going on. Once upon a
time, huge IBM wanting to get into
personal computing turned to tiny
Microsoft for a key component. Today,
despite its tremendous size, IBM
continues to seek out innovation in tiny
startups. And those once-tiny startups and
now major players — Microsoft, Apple,
Google, Facebook — do the same,
constantly looking for innovation at the
edge.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
66
67. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
And, of course, you’ve got to get involved
…!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
67
68. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
To have any credibility, you have to lead
from the front. Talking about the
opportunities or dangers of self-tracking
carries little weight unless you’ve tried it
yourself. Familiarity with academic
literature alone carries little weight. So,
learn about yourself. Track your sleep, or
your mood, or your office tasks and their
relation to your stress, … anything really
— and see what you learn about yourself,
as well as the difficulty of doing, of
learning, and of making changes.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
68
69. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
You might find that you have to remind
yourself of what constitutes good science.
Blindly assuming that the protocols of
large clinical trials are the only way to do
good science is as much “cargo cult
science” mentality as anything you might
find to criticize of the amateurs.!
!
You might also come to appreciate that
messy data obtained in real-world
conditions is far more valuable than clean
data obtained in sterile laboratory
conditions or highly-circumscribed clinical
trials.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
69
70. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
Then you can use your clout to accelerate
widespread adoption of innovations for
personal health, to encourage and support
your patients to learn more about
themselves and to make their own
decisions.!
!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
70
71. Slide! Prepared Remarks!
I’d like to close with two examples of ideas
from the edge that may be starting to
influence the mainstream. They are both
things I’m involved in.!
!
One has to do with seeing opportunities to
applying new tools to address major
problems.!
Rajiv Mehta • rajiv@bhageera.com • 2 August 2012 • HIC2012 Sydney, Australia!
71