It was Health Innovation Week in Silicon Valley and I have followed the events on Twitter with a mix of envy and excitement, so I thought I would share some of the highlights. You too can follow the Twitter conversation here: #health2con

The 2011 Health 2.0 Conference (#health2dev) is being held this week in San Francisco as part of Health Innovation Week in Silicon Valley, with agenda split into four sub-groups:

The conference also featured the Health 2.0 Code-a-thon, which pitted 13 teams against each other in a caffeine induced sprint to create the coolest new thing with the time and resources alloted. A total of six awards were available, three sponsored by the conference host and three sponsored by Novartis as a side challenge. The clear winner of the competition was Team Avande and a device called simply “the box”, which helps clinicians and cardiac patients work together to avoid hospital readmission after a cardiac event. The box was created with a Microsoft Kinect and can be used by a patient recovering from a cardiac event to perform rehabilitation exercises. Total cost of creating the device was $470.

Health 2.0 Code-a-thon winners include;

  • Box (1st place, $3000)
  • Recover Online (2nd place, $2000) – A website that aims to modify alcoholics behavior by letting them enter online videoconferencing rooms when they need support.
  • Droid Vital (3rd place, $1000) – An application that works in conjunction with Bluetooth enabled devices to track vital sign information. This data can then be shared with doctors or nurses as well as a patient’s family and friends.

Novartis Challenge winners include;

  • RXPact (1st place, $3000) – An online site that records personal information and employs social rewards and gaming to help patients take their medications.
  • Cystic Fibrosis/Cancer App (2nd place, $2000) – A companion mobile application that reminds people to take their medications and alert them of any possible side effects.
  • Rainbow Button (3rd place, $1000) – A site that allows patients to provide Blue Button data with a Green Button approach. Health information is shared securely and anonymously, helping to contribute to the knowledge base about certain diseases.

The Body Slam Competition at USC’s Body Computing Lab (Twitter: #USC_BCC ) was won by Lumoback, a company developing a thin, flexible and wireless sensor adhesives that you put on your skin. These LUMOback sensors monitor and measure users posture in real-time and when you are slouching, it sends you small gentle vibrations to your lower back reminding you to sit up straight.

Another event worth at least 30 minutes reading about on Twitter is the Medicine 2.0 conference (Twitter: #med2 ), held this year at Stanford. iMedicalApps contributor Kevin Clauson [posted a brief reflection] on his experiences at the event earlier this week. By all accounts the conference made a very compelling case for mHealth and the various technologies and services empowering consumers to proactively take control of their health.

Broadcast on LiveStream.com to an audience of about 350 (yours truly included), the DCtoVC pitch contest hosted by Morgenthaler Ventures and StartupHealth at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley facility showcased investor presentations from the entrepreneurs behind the most promising health IT startups in America. You can follow it here: #DCtoVC.

Series A Winner:
Jiff Inc Jiff Pad is an iPad app that gives physicians the ability to create effective and memorable “teaching moments” right in front of patients, just as they might with a wall poster or anatomical model.

Seed Stage Winner
EyeNetra: MIT Media Lab startup developing an eye diagnostic tool for mobile phones that will allow anyone to take an eye test, receive a diagnostic measurement, and access eye care, won at the seed stage.

In the video below Rebecca Lynn, Partner at Morgenthaler Ventures and lead organizer of DCtoVC, gives her assessment of the current state of health IT.