Ars Electronica Center Linz:
Science Days: Digitally Healthy
(Linz, September 17, 2013) Digitally healthy is the title of the next Science Days event at the Ars Electronica Center. The lineup includes a round-table discussion featuring, among others notables, Austrian Minister of Health Alois Stöger, a Deep Space LIVE with physician Franz Fellner, presentations by Austrian companies, and various themed guided tours.
Digitally Healthy / Round-table discussion
How does modern technology influence our health? Besides enabling us to live longer, does technological progress also make it possible for us to remain healthy longer? Among the experts discussing various aspects of this topic on Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 6 PM in the Ars Electronica Center’s Sky Loft are Alois Stöger (Austrian Federal Minister of Health), Pamela Rendi-Wagner (Ministry department head for public health and medical affairs), Gerfried Stocker (artistic director of Ars Electronica) and Florian Gschwandtner (CEO of Runtastic GmbH).
Deep Space LIVE: Panoptikum – Digitally Healthy
Immediately following the round-table, Gerfried Stocker, Horst Hörtner (director of the Ars Electronica Futurelab) and Christoph Kremer (director of the Ars Electronica Center) will host Panoptikum, a guided tour of the internet in Deep Space. Then, special guest Dr. Franz Fellner, chairman of Linz General Hospital’s Department of Radiology, will present 3-D models of the brain generated by the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig.
Come closer! When Technology Meets the Human Body / Guided tour for seniors
Most medical diagnoses, therapies and treatments to assure our quality of life strongly depend on the use of technology. This tour especially designed for seniors will present diagnostic imaging procedures such as microscopy, magnetic resonance tomography and DNA analysis.
Everything about eHealth / Presentations
Remote diagnoses have usually been dismissed as dubious in the past, but they now constitute an important branch of eHealth known as telemedicine. Smartphones running health apps are no longer merely stylish accoutrements; they have what it takes to function as serious pieces of medical equipment. They can support patients in conjunction with diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive measures, and perform 24/7 health monitoring and data exchange.
Whether it’s checking blood sugar, blood pressure, breathing, the number of steps the user has taken, the quantity of fluid he/she has drunk, or the exact time for his/her next dose of meds—mobile devices can gather, process and output a tremendous amount of data and, if need be, transmit them to medical facilities or paramedic crews. Nevertheless, all these advantages of digitization and utilization of personal data also raise questions about data protection and safeguarding the individual’s right to privacy. And whose word do you take: the doctor you visit in a conventional office or the one on the picture screen? During Science Days, visitors to the Ars Electronica Center can try out various health apps and eHealth devices, and also get a close-up look at some of the latest eHealth trends:
An exhibit in the Lobby will showcase current projects at the Joanneum University of Applied Sciences and the curriculum of its eHealth program.
Runtastic, an Austrian start-up, will present its smartphone app and a new scale it recently launched at IFA Berlin, the world’s leading consumer electronics trade show. Hearing system manufacturer Med-EL will go into detail about its Bonebridge, a revolutionary new, totally implantable bone-conduction hearing aid.
A diabetes patient will give an account of his personal experiences with the mylife OmniPod insulin pump manufactured by ypsomed, and explain how this device can make therapy easier.
The Machine in Me / Special Guided Tour
This special tour provides a look into the fascinating world of intelligent prostheses and implants. Speakers will go into attempts ever since Antiquity to replace missing parts of the body. Another focal-point theme will be technological innovations and scientific insights emerging from the neurosciences, which will significantly determine future developments in the field of prosthetics.
Press Release “Digitally Healthy” / PDF
Photo:
Digital gesund / Martin Hieslmair / Printversion / Album
