Self Employed? Small Business? We Have Health Insurance For You! Dave Cunix The Gathering Place Home Furnishings Warehouse What’s old for you can be new for someone else... Donate your gently-used furniture, china, crystal and home accessories today! Proceeds help The Gathering Place support, educate & empower those touched by cancer through programs and services provided free of charge. To donate home furnishings and accessories, call 216-595-9546. Free pack up and pick up! Donations are tax deductible! 216.292.8700 Bogart Cunix & Browning, LLC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT & INSURANCE SERVICES 5900 Landerbrook Drive #201 • Mayfield Heights thecunix@bogartcunix.com • www.bcandb.com www.touchedbycancer.org/warehouse LogicJunction Uses Video Game Technology to Generate Winning Software By June Scharf T he future is here and no, it’s clearly not flying cars or teleportation. It’s actually about the “gamification” of our world, where elements of video game technology are reaching into other corners of life, imbued in software that can educate or guide you. Some manifestations of these advances include the use of interactive 3D virtual characters (avatars) that offer instruction and indoor “wayfinding” applications for, quite literally, finding your way inside large buildings. Helping to bring these types of advances forward into your technological universe – your smartphone or tablet or a kiosk when entering an institution – is LogicJunction, a cutting-edge, interactive software company located in Commerce Park and run by Beachwood resident Mark Jowell. With 14 full-time employees and contractors hired as needed, the company resembles what is more often seen on the west coast, with its high-tech, innovative focus. The gaming technology developed out there keeps engineers here happy, using skills generally untapped in this market. And with the healthcare industry being one of the targets for its products, the Cleveland area is a great match. “We are creating products that enhance patient experiences,” explains Jowell, a South African native, with a law degree and MBA on his resume. In 2001, he arrived in Atlanta where he founded the company, then moved the business to Beachwood in 2006 to be closer to family, to have access to great schools for his children, age 8 and 11, and to enjoy minimal traffic. Since information is easily imparted through human communication, the 3D character creations deliver well as personal docents or greeters displayed on kiosks in a hospital setting. Their application also extends to use in museums and trade shows, and the company is exploring expansion across other markets and verticals including amusement parks, college campuses and stadiums. The primary niche now, however, is for their use in hospitals. As such, the character appears as a nurse who trains either staff or patients through an app used on a tablet or other mobile platform. In the case of staff training, one software package features a nurse teaching how a new infusion pump functions. She explains how to program dosage levels, and she examines real life examples, where staff members can interact with the pump in three dimensions. Another software development involves a virtual stroke patient where emergency medical technicians and nurses can learn the standardized 11-step stroke assessment process. For patients, one LogicJunction creation tasks a 3D nurse with disseminating discharge instruction. The virtual nurse uses photos and videos to convey information, and the software allows patients to interactively immerse themselves in experiences through the use of in-app games and simulations. The benefit to using this approach is a reduction in staff time spent training patients and consistency and comprehensiveness in the lessons imparted. The other major product LogicJunction offers is wayfinding software, enabling “door to door” navigation in an unfamiliar setting. By downloading an app, the software taps GPS functionality to offer step-by-step guidance in 3D. Directions begin with driving to the hospital, identifying parking options and routing the patient through the hospital to reach the desired office for an appointment. The Cleveland Clinic is one client among several hospitals nationwide offering this technology. Jowell admits, though, that fewer than 10% of hospitals in the U.S. offer this type of technology, so the company accepts the role of educating and expanding the market. Another one of his ambitions is to create products that enable greater transparency across the healthcare ecosystem. He reports that huge inefficiencies exist with access to patient health records, and he envisions a day when accessibility is possible across many platforms and mobile devices. June 2015 n Beachwood Buzz 27