Hear from imc² VP of health & wellness Brady Walcott on who and what stood out at TEDMED 2011.
In October, leaders on the cutting edge of medial innovation shared ideas on the future of health and medicine in San Diego, Calif., at the annual TEDMED 2011 conference. imc²’s vice president of health & wellness Brady Walcott reflects on who and what stood out most to him at TEDMED 2011:
It was interesting to hear from two visionaries who are applying their unique experiences outside the medical field to health and wellness in a way that will greatly improve the way people live.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from explorer and adventurer Dan Buettner, but I was impressed with his presentation. In his world travels, Buettner became interested in demographics and longevity and began researching regions of the Earth with the longest life expectancy. He coined these regions “blue zones,” and published a book of his findings in 2008, “The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.”
At TEDMED, Buettner spoke about the affects environmental changes have on overall health. During the presentation, he described a real-life case study in which his team applied best practices for better living that had been identified from cultures around the world to promote a healthier lifestyle to a community in Minnesota. From creating bike lanes to planting community gardens and changing the school lunch programs in this community, Buettner and his team set out to prove that subtle changes in everyday life can make a significant impact in improving the health and wellness of an individual (or a community).
The point of validation for me was that the application of Buettner’s findings through modifications to the environment brought about measurable results. These results included an increase in the average life expectancy by three years, drops in employee absentee rates and reduced healthcare costs for city employees.
It was as inspiring to hear from Dean Kamen, one of the world’s most prominent and prolific inventors of today. Kamen has a passion for and unwavering desire to develop innovative solutions that help others. He has founded several science and technology companies, one of which is looking for ways to impact the medical industry with robotics. He used the stage at TEDMED to talk about what was on the horizon for medical robotics, report the status of his robotic arm development and to vent his frustrations over getting FDA approval for his latest enhancements.
The most recent updates to Kamen’s robotic arm, known as the DEKA arm, are intended to restore functionality for individuals with upper extremity amputations. The arm itself should greatly enhance the quality of life for amputees by providing the ability to manage everyday tasks with a higher level of dexterity.
It’s fascinating how these individuals have come to the place they are in the health and wellness industry, and inspirational to learn how they have overcome immense obstacles in their careers to apply their expertise to the unique challenges of healthcare.
Follow Brady on Twitter @bradywalcott. Interested in what else Brady has to say? Read his blog posts on previewing TEDMED or Health 2.0 Spring Fling.