The Innovation Convention exhibition will showcase exciting research and innovation results being developed under European funding programmes.

The Innovation Convention 2011 will be led by the President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation, and Science.

It will be Europe's premier innovation event, with over 1200 selected participants.

The Innovation Union aims to improve conditions and access to finance for research and innovation in Europe, to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs.

The convention will be a great opportunity for INTERSTRESS to raise visibility of the project and get the attention of stakeholders and private investors.

The Italian Minister for Education, Universities, and Research Francesco Profumo visits the INTERSTRESS exhibition at the Innovation

Click here to visit to the official Innovation Convention webpage.

INTERSTRESS showcased at the

16^th Annual CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference

Members of the INTERSTRESS (Interreality in the Management and Treatment of Stress-related Disorders) project, funded under the European Commission’s FP7 Program, presented their work to an international audience at the recent 16th Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference: Evidence-Based Clinical Application of Information Technology (CYBER¹⁶), held June 19-22, 2011 in Gatineau, Canada.

CYBER¹⁶, the official conference of the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR), attracted 200 participants from industry, academia and government from 25 countries:   Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.   As in previous years, CYBER¹⁶ continued its two-fold focus, exploring:

1. Technologies as enabling tools

2. The impact of new technologies on individual behavior and societal relations

The conference featured presentations on research utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as avatars, videogame virtual reality, non-invasive physiological monitoring, wireless technologies, and robotics for training, education, and therapeutic purposes.  However, there was also an exciting influx of researchers investigating the uses and effects of social networking tools.  This is a focus we look to embrace more in coming years.

CYBER¹⁷ will be held September 12-15, 2012 in Brussels, Belgium.   The conference will continue to explore the uses of advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality, videogames, telehealth, the internet, robotics, brain computer interfaces, wearable computing, mobile computing, social networking, and non-invasive physiological monitoring devices, in the diagnosis, assessment, and prevention of mental and physical disorders as well as assessment of interactive media in training, education, rehabilitation, and therapeutic interventions.  However, CYBER¹⁷ will also strengthen its focus on the effects of interactive media and social networking tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, on individual behavior and interpersonal relationships.

Members of the INTERSTRESS team:  B.K. Wiederhold, D. Pizzioli, A. Gaggioli, G. Riva at the CYBER¹⁶ conference.

For additional information, please visit http://www.interactivemediainstitute.com and http://www.INTERSTRESS.eu.

Four projects currently funded by ICT for Health, European Commission, teamed up recently to

present a symposium, entitled Virtual Reality, Mental Health, Stress-Related Disorders and

Rehabilitation. The symposium, held at the recent MedeTel conference in Luxembourg, 6-8 April

2011, included members of INTERSTRESS (Interreality in the Management and Treatment of

Stress-Related Disorders), MONARCA (Monitoring, Treatment and Prediction of Bipolar

Disorder Episodes, Help4Mood and ICT4Depression. The symposium, presented in

cooperation with the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR),

gave international attendees an opportunity to learn of new technological approaches being applied

to help those with depression, bipolar, and stress-related disorders. Of note, all four projects include

end user involvement at all phases of development. Also of importance is the inclusion of objective

data, marking a new era of more clearly objectifying mental health states and treatment efficacy.

For more information please visit:

www.medetel.lu

www.iACToR.ning.com

www.interstress.eu

www.monarca-project.eu

www.ict4depression.eu

http://sites.google.com/site/hwinteractionlab/help4mood

INTERSTRESS: Interreality in the Management and Treatment of Stress-Related Disorders

The INTERSTRESS project aims to design, develop and test an advanced ICT-based solution for the assessment and treatment of psychological stress.

Objectives:

•     Quantitative and objective assessment of symptoms using biosensors and behavioral analysis

•     Decision support for treatment planning through data fusion and detection algorithms

•     Provision of warnings and motivating feedback to improve compliance and long-term outcome

To reach these goals, INTERSTRESS will use a new e-Health concept:  Interreality.

What is Interreality? It is the integration of assessment and treatment within a hybrid, closed-loop empowering experience, bridging physical and virtual worlds into one seamless reality:

•     Behavior in the physical world will influence the virtual world experience

•     Behavior in the virtual world will influence the real world experience

These goals will be achieved through:

•     3D Shared Virtual World role-playing experiences in which users interact with one another

•     Immersive in the health care centre
/Non-immersive in the home setting

•     Bio and Activity Sensors (from the Real to the Virtual World)

•     Tracking of emotional/health/activity status of the user and influencing the individual's experience in the virtual world (aspect, activity and access)

•     Mobile Internet Appliances (from the Virtual to the Real World)

•     Social and individual user activity in the virtual world has a direct link with the users’ life through a mobile phone/PDA

Expected Results

The vision is a personalized, immersive e-therapy in which biosensors, VR simulations, and presence allow the ability to detect and manage stress anytime, anywhere are key components of the INTERSTRESS solution. This speaks to the continued call for the active participation of individual citizens in their own health and well-being.

INTERSTRESS is a European-funded project 
Instrument:  CP - ICT Grant Number FP7-247685

The major themes at the conference were digital solution for sustainable growth in a low carbon economy and the role of ICT in the life of citizens, as well as public participation and support. Vice President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, called for cooperation and collaboration, by saying, “We can do much more together”. In keeping with the theme of cooperation, Prime Minister of Belgium Yves Leterme emphasized the importance of intensifying cooperation at the European level as well, needing to act as a union, towards the EU 2020 target. This new strategy, the EU 2020, is a concrete way to leave the global crisis behind and turn the European Union into a “smart, sustainable and inclusive economy”, which will deliver productivity, social cohesion and employment. These challenges require a common and coordinated response.

Alongside this are calls for raising ICT research and innovation to help increase quality of life and overcome social challenges, as well as improve healthcare. Christian Reinaud, CEO of Agfa-Gevaert NV, Belgium, said that ICT is a key tool to improving the efficiency of healthcare systems in Europe.

With around 25-35% of the exhibits focusing on healthcare, it shows that indeed ICT is crucial for the future of medicine. These health-focused exhibits ranged from supporting independent living and offering companionship, to catering to the elderly, battling cognitive decline, controlling and treating seizures, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, epilepsy, and to easing life for the paralyzed.

Some concrete examples include: TOBI, practical technology for brain-computer interaction (BCI) aimed at improving the quality of life of disabled people; PRESENCCIA, dedicated to the understanding of brain mechanisms underlying presence in virtual and mixed reality environments through neuroscience, psychology computer science, and engineering; OLDES, a system which collects and transmits information from the patient’s own home to hospitals and physicians; Playmancer, which uses 3-D computer games to combat the negative effects of mental disorders and offer virtual therapy; and the Vesalius Robot, a surgical robot which aims to improve the safety of interventional surgery; and the STREAM (scaled teleoperation for robust enhanced microsurgery) project on robotic microsurgery.

This great number of healthcare-focused exhibits shows that people are not only aware of the limits of today’s healthcare systems, but they are equally aware of tomorrow’s possibilities, and equally willing to embrace the opportunities of ICT.

During the event researchers and practitioners from a variety of backgrounds such as electrical engineering, computer science, pervasive computing, human computer interface design, psychology, psychiatry and other medical sciences gave 11 presentations and 3 invited speeches that addressed the potential of ubiquitous computing for mental disorders and maintenance of mental health.

While, some research has been directed towards dementia and autism, less focus has been given to the major mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and stress. However, mental disorders affect around a quarter of all people at some time during their life. These disorders are universal – affecting all countries and societies, and individuals at all ages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental disorders have a major negative direct and indirect impact on economy and on the quality of life of individuals and families.

The proceedings of the event are freely downloadable from this web site: http://www.create-net.org/ubint/ubihealth/accepted_papers.htm