The University of Maryland School of Medicine is again hosting the Games for Health conference, a two-day gathering that health-care workers and researchers use to look at and discuss the latest health-related game technology.

　　Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the third-annual Games for Health is set for September 28 and 29 and is part of the Serious Games Initiative, which finds real-world applications to games in fields such as education, training, and health.

　　"Slowly but surely the last year has seen a growing appreciation for what modern-day video games can offer to health care," said Games for Health cofounder Ben Sawyer.

　　Some of Games for Health's 30 conferences include "State of Exergaming," a discussion of games that promote exercise; "Making Hospitals Fun," which explains how "hospitals can be much more fun than they are" using video games; and "Mass Casualty Care Panel," a discussion about how applying game simulations can prepare health-care workers for real-life epidemics and large-scale crises.

　　No keynote speakers have been announced yet. The next registration deadline is September 8 at a cost of $375.