“High Tech Health: Revolutionizing How We Track, Treat and Prevent Disease,” will be presented Wednesday, Oct. 2, 6-7:15 p.m., at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Innovation Building, The Forum, 1670 E. Drachman St., Tucson.
Advances in wearable technology, virtual reality (VR) and integrative imaging hold the promise of revolutionizing how we monitor, control and prevent disease. World-renowned physician-scientist, prolific inventor and industry leader Marvin Slepian, MD, will provide an exclusive look at the intersection of science, engineering and medicine.
Far from the early days when it might have been seen as a consumer fad or novelty product, wearable technology is making a bold, dramatic and visible entrance into our lives and the health-care sector. One in six consumers use a wearable device today. Smartwatches and fitness trackers collectively represent the most popular category; however, smart clothing, smart-skin patches and an entirely new class of materials called stretchable electronics are becoming available. In addition, advances in imaging and simulation, such as virtual reality, are being used to relieve surgical pain, administer physical therapy and cognitive rehabilitation and complement surgical training and planning, among other uses.
These technologies present exciting avenues to attack unprecedented challenges facing our health-care system. Wearable technology is estimated to yield a global cost savings of $200 billion in the health-care sector over the next 25 years, due in part to the increasingly accurate predictive capabilities of these devices. From life-saving detection of abnormal heart rhythms, to the monitoring of gait, stability and potential movement disorders, to the continuous collection of critical data on blood pressure and respiratory rate, these technologies are revolutionizing how we track, treat and prevent disease.
PARKING: Free parking is available after 5 p.m. in the Lot Specific 2012 parking lot, next to the Health Sciences Innovation Building, and the Lot Specific 2147 parking lot, across the street on Cherry Avenue between Helen and Mabel streets, as well as in all Lot Specific parking lots surrounding the Health Sciences campus and the Health Sciences garage (formerly the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson Visitor/Patient Parking Garage) at 1501 N. Campbell Ave. For disabled parking, or drop-off location next to the Health Sciences Innovation Building, please email livinghealthy@arthritis.arizona.edu, or call 520-626-5040.
Seating for the lecture is limited and prior registration is requested. For more information or to register, please visit the UA Arthritis Center website, arthritis.arizona.edu, or call 520-626-5040, or email livinghealty@arthritis.arizona.edu.
For questions concerning access, or requests for a Sign Language interpreter or disability-related accommodations, please contact Tracy Shake, 520-626-5040, email: livinghealthy@arthritis.arizona.edu.
The lecture is part of the “Living Healthy with Arthritis” series of free monthly talks presented by the UA Arthritis Center at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
About the Speaker:
Marvin Slepian, MD
Dr. Slepian is a regents professor of medicine, regents professor and associate department head of Biomedical Engineering and a McGuire Scholar in the Eller College of Management, all at the University of Arizona. He is the director of the Arizona Center for Accelerated Biomedical Innovation (ACABI) – a “creativity engine,” focused on novel solution development for unmet medical needs.
He earned his bachelor's degree in biochemical sciences and science in human affairs from Princeton in 1977 and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1981. He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York University–Bellevue Hospital, where he served as chief resident before going on to clinical and research fellowships in cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and clinical and research fellowships in interventional cardiology and a research fellowship in artificial organs at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, Dr. Slepian also received post-doctoral training in chemical engineering and polymer chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Dr. Slepian is the author or co-author of more than 250 articles, textbook chapters and abstracts, published in journals such as Science and the New England Journal of Medicine and serves on several editorial review boards. He is a prolific inventor with more than 55 issued and filed patents, has founded numerous medical device companies and has been involved in bringing many new devices through the FDA regulatory process into clinical use – most notably the total artificial heart.
About the University of Arizona Arthritis Center
The University of Arizona Arthritis Center, a Center of Excellence at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, is a research leader with a focus on identifying the causes of arthritis and developing improved diagnosis, measurement and treatment of the disease. For more information, please visit arthritis.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 900 faculty members and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram)