1. health and fitness

MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 8 April 2015
Apps and Games: the future of healthy living
Australian Health tech start-up, Sonoa Health, has been commended on
the world stage for leading a new wave of innovation using gaming
principles to engage people in healthy living.
A team of nine professionals and university students from Sonoa Health in Melbourne has won two of the top
awards at the Games4Health Grand Prix competition in the US, which has cemented the company’s reputation as a
leading innovator in online health engagement.
Games4Health is a global community housed at the University of Utah’s Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation. Its annual Games4Health Grand Prix competition brings together industry sponsors and innovators from
numerous disciplines, to address real-world challenges in the health and wellness industry.
In its first year as a competitor, Sonoa Health was awarded Best Wireframe in the Sorenson Wellbeing Challenge
and Best Video of the competition. The entry, titled Health&games, included a written application, video, wireframe design, and marketing materials. The winners will receive a share in a $50,000 prize pool.
Team leader and Health Engagement Director, Dr Bow Tauro, said the awards are a promising endorsement of the
incredible work being undertaken at Sonoa Health.
“Our company’s core mission is to deliver fresh new ideas, tools and resources to engage people in their unique
lifelong health journey. Later this year, we will be launching an innovative consumer health platform, Health&, which
is underpinned by sophisticated algorithms and gamification principles to individualise users’ experiences with
online health information,” said Dr Tauro.
“I’m personally very excited about the capacity for gamification alone and with social support, to increase individuals’ knowledge and engagement with healthy living principles.”
Dr Tauro said the application process for Games4Health was a solid team effort, which included some colourful
chapters along the way too, thanks to differences in time zone and location.
“I was invited to present virtually via Skype during the Arcade Demonstration in Utah, which included firing up my
coffee machine and computer at 4:30am to detail our Health&games application to a hall of game enthusiasts,
judges and competitors,” said Dr Tauro.
“They were all very interested in our health education initiatives and wanted to know when it will be available in the
USA. It was a great success.”
Dr Tauro said the video gaming industry has long been criticised for contributing to health issues and social isolation, but believes that community-connected and positive online health programs are the way forward for engaging
people in healthier lifestyles.
“There is an enormous appetite for people to learn about and quantify their health online, so it’s important that we
develop smart programs and enjoyable games that encourage them to not only measure, but use this information
to actively improve their health,” said Dr Tauro.
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Sonoa Health’s Health& portal is designed to provide an intelligent interface between doctors and consumers,
building a live window into an individual’s medical information and wellness activities. The portal also features
animated, illustrated and written health resources, which are derived from evidence-based sources and backed by
a world-class Medical Advisory Board.
“Overall, we’re confident that we can help to engage people in happy and healthy lifestyles. We’re on a mission to
prove that maintaining good health doesn’t have to be an inconvenience – in fact, we believe the journey must be
effortless and fun along the way,” said Dr Tauro.
For more information about Health& visit www.sonoahealth.com
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Media Interviews:
To request an interview with Health Engagement Director, Dr Bow Tauro, please contact Chief
Communications Officer, Haley Price, on +61 (0) 423 139 163 or [email protected]
Media Resources:
• Poster for Health&games may be downloaded HERE
• Photo of Health Engagement Director, Dr Bow Tauro, may be downloaded HERE
• Photo of the winning Health&games wireframe may be downloaded HERE
• Video showcasing the Health&games winning submission is available HERE
• Video showcasing the Health& consumer portal is available HERE
About Sonoa Health:
Sonoa Health is revolutionising the way people engage with their health online, through a new platform technology Health& and health
resource media library Health&education.
Sonoa Health’s core mission is to facilitate engagement in happy and healthy lifestyles, promote preventative health measures, and
support people living with chronic illnesses. The team is leading a new frontier in health education, which is underpinned by creativity,
accuracy, and verified by the world’s most respected medical pioneers.
The Health& consumer portal is a collaborative tool between consumers and their healthcare providers, which will be publicly launched
in 2015. It will transform electronic medical records into a live source of information and provide a single window into consumers’ health.
It also features a comprehensive search engine containing written, animated and illustrated health resources, which are designed to
improve health literacy.
The first stage of the Health& launch is a new website, Health&education, which is an online library of health resources including animations and written brochures for industry professionals. Subscribers are invited to stream content on demand to play during patient
consultations, in waiting rooms and on public viewing screens.
Sonoa Health has brought together a multi-disciplinary team of the very best medical, creative and digital minds. Its Medical Advisory
Board includes Professor Leon Piterman AM (Chair), Professor Henry Burger AO, Professor Ian Meredith AM, Professor John Murtagh
AM, Professor Hatem Salem AM, Professor Geoffrey Driscoll OAM, Professor Geoffrey Metz AM, A/Professor Alison Street AO and
Professor Gab Kovacs AM.
Visit the Sonoa Health corporate website HERE.
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