It's not often you hear a big (really, really big) industry trade show experience like the NeoCon World's Trade fair described as, "open," "soft" or "relaxing." But those were just a few of the comments we heard from visitors to the healthcare immersive Nurture "social space" within the Illinois Institute of Technology Institute of Design in conjunction with NeoCon 2012.

Over 300 healthcare professionals, architects, designers and dealers took a few minutes to break from the pack and visit the Nurture "Ask. Innovate" experience to explore possibilities and consider multiple perspectives - all in the effort to drive conversations and collaborations that ultimately lead to better healthcare experiences and environments.

Ryan Grote of Nurture talks about Empath while wearing the 3rd Age suit.

The three day Nurture 2012 NeoCon experience was punctuated with a mix of interesting conversation, diverse opinion and an engaging presentation on how persuasive technology and design thinking could impact the future of health and safety from Tom MacTavish, an assistant professor at IIT Institute of Design.

On Wednesday, Day 3 of the Nurture NeoCon 2012 experience, the Nurture space hosted a visit from the IIT "Design Summer Camp" - a

Travis Zimdar of Nurture demonstrates the 3rd Age suit and Empath with the help of a few friends.

program for senior executives offering a week-long engaging and intensive deep-dive into the latest methods of design thinking. This group took the opportunity to visit Nurture and learn about the research and insights that informed the design of Empath. Empath received a great reaction from the group, as it had all from week from the hundreds of visitors coming through the space.

Read more about NeoCon here and check out photos on the Nurture Facebook page.

On Day 2 of the Nurture NeoCon 2012 Experience, Tom MacTavish, an assistant professor at IIT Institute of Design, shared a few insights from his time at Persuasive 2012: Design for Health and Safety, the 7th International Conference on Persuasive Technology recently held in Linköping, Sweden.

Tom described some very interesting and forward-looking things going on with the intersection of persuasive technology, design and healthcare, including four key areas of focus that thought leaders in the field are looking into from a health and wellness perspective  - Persuasive Theory, Health Promotion, Patient Monitoring and Compliance and Raising Awareness.

Tom asked several poignant questions, noting first that the key to being persuasive begins with heightening awareness. How do we solve if we don't know the issue? First you must ask what the problem needing to be solved is, and then you can innovate to try to solve it. Keep in mind that persuasion is different than corrosion and deception. Persuasion involves voluntary engagement, which is very important in the healthcare industry. 

Technologies and apps available on smartphones can help increase motivation for exercise, including rowing, walking, and some proven to help with arthritis. Intrinsic rewards are important to help make behavioral changes, but when somebody is not compliant, when is the best time and what is the best way to intervene?  These are questions that need further discussion.

Tom presents to a captive audience.

Nurture is excited to announce the addition of Folio to SmartTools!  This is the first Nurture product to be incorporated into this "smart" software.

SmartTools saves time and energy when specifying and ordering Folio.  When building Folio applications with coordinating base cabinets, worksurfaces, upper cabinets and tall storage, the pre-defined "rules" embedded into the SmartTools software make sure all of the parts will work together.  Folio symbols will offer the capability to be stretched to accommodate a specific dimension.  (Functional changes such as adding or removing a drawer are not possible with CET software).  Minimum and maximum dimensions vary by component and are adjustable in 1/16th" increments.  In addition, SmartTools builds the bill of materials and list pricing, without the need to create a special product quote!

Also a great marketing tool, SmartTools generates high quality 3D renderings that help customers envision, understand and get excited about the proposed solution. These capabilities are available to dealers with a SmartTools license only.  So for the Nurture dealers who are already online with SmartTools - we hope you enjoy this new enhancement. 

If you'd like to learn more about the capabilities of the SmartTools software, or how to purchase a license, please visit:
http://in2.steelcase.com/configura/