USC Center for Body Computing and Skullcandy Harmonize on Innovative Health Competition Powered by Music

USC Center for Body Computing and Skullcandy Harmonize on Innovative Health Competition Powered by Music

8th Annual USC Body Computing Conference to feature USC CBC SLAM competition October 2

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC), part of Keck Medicine of USC, has announced its annual USC CBC SLAM event created this year in collaboration with Skullcandy Inc. to challenge creative minds to use music in a way that helps consumers better understand their personal health. Four finalists will present their ideas to an expert judging panel on the evening of October 2. In addition to a $10,000 prize, the final winner will present their idea on center stage the next day at the 8(th) annual USC Center for Body Computing Conference.

The competition offers creatives of all types a forum to use their imaginations to present a digital experience assuming a sensor(s) resides in headphones that can in turn educate, inspire or change how consumers understand their own health or even change their behavior for a healthier lifestyle. The USC CBC SLAM contest each year promotes imaginative, disruptive, next-generation digital health innovation. Previous winners have included LumoBack, a start-up with a posture sensor, and Vampire Rancher, a mobile social gaming platform for children with diabetes. To find out how to submit a proposal, visit the USC CBC website: http://bodycomputing.squarespace.com/slam-contest-2014-now-stream/. Proposals are due by September 22 and finalists for the live pitch in Los Angeles will be chosen by September 26.

"Through the birth of on-demand mobile music platforms and small wireless body-worn sensors, we now have the technology to build innovative products that incorporate and tailor music to the signals our bodies generate," said Leslie Saxon. M.D., a cardiologist and executive director and founder of the USC Center for Body Computing. "The support and collaboration with Skullcandy, takes this year's USC CBC SLAM event to a whole new level where music becomes the driver for human potential and personal health empowerment."

Skullcandy, the original lifestyle and performance audio brand, is sponsoring the USC CBC SLAM event and will also further its collaboration with USC by becoming a vital partner on future research that shows the impact of music and biometrics.

"We know how powerful music can be whether it is inspiring athletic accomplishments, alleviating stress or its therapeutic affect on those with Parkinson's disease, depression and Alzheimer's," says Hoby Darling, CEO of Skullcandy. "Our involvement with USC extends our reach beyond sports and entertainment to have meaningful impact on health - heart rates, brainwaves, mood. We see this collaboration with USC's Center for Body Computing as a perfect marriage where we both have the same future vision: help people live better lives."

The 8(th) Annual USC Center for Body Computing Conference is an event designed to bring digital and life sciences executives, sensor and mobile app inventors, strategists, designers, investors and visionaries from health care, entertainment and technology together for one day to showcase an international array of digital and mobile health ideas. Founded by Leslie Saxon, an international digital health guru and trained USC cardiologist who has spoken at TED MED and Wired international conferences, the USC CBC conference is her promise to make consumers "the heroes of their own health stories." The conference will be held on the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles on October 3. For more information or to register for the conference, visit: uscbodycomputing.org

ABOUT KECK MEDICINE OF USC
Keck Medicine of USC is the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-based medical systems in the Los Angeles area. Encompassing academic, research and clinical excellence, the medical system attracts internationally renowned experts who teach and practice at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the region's first medical school; includes the renowned USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the first comprehensive cancer centers established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States; has a medical faculty practice, the USC Care Medical Group; operates the Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes two acute care hospitals: 401-licensed bed Keck Hospital of USC and 60-licensed bed USC Norris Cancer Hospital; and owns USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, a 158-licensed bed community hospital. It also includes more than 40 outpatient facilities, some at affiliated hospitals, in Los Angeles, Orange, Kern, Tulare and Ventura counties. U.S. News & World Report ranked Keck Medical Center of USC among the Top 10 in ophthalmology (No. 9), and among the Top 25 hospitals in the United States for urology (No. 20) and cancer care (No. 23). The medical center was also awarded an "A" grade from The Leapfrog Group in March, representing outstanding patient safety practices and overall patient outcomes. For more information, go to www.keckmedicine.org/beyond.





SOURCE Keck Medicine of USC

Keck Medicine of USC

CONTACT: Sherri Snelling at (323) 442-4838 or sherri.snelling@med.usc.edu

Web Site: http://www.keckmedicine.org/


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