Hopelab is a social innovation lab focused on designing science-based technologies to improve the health and well-being of teens and young adults.

Zamzee is a game-based product prototyped and tested by Hopelab as a tool to motivate children, families and groups to be more physically active.

Other outcomes included positive impacts on LDL cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, key biomarkers for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

[1] To begin its development of physical activity interventions, Hopelab, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio launched an online competition called Ruckus Nation on September 18, 2007.

The competition was structured as a form of crowdsourcing, and its objective was to generate ideas for products that will encourage children ages 11–14 to be more physically active.

Hopelab conducted an international, multicenter randomized controlled trial to gauge the efficacy of Re-Mission as it relates to compliance with prescribed chemotherapy and antibiotic treatments, cancer-related knowledge, and self-efficacy.

Researchers concluded that a carefully designed video game can have a positive impact on health behavior in young people with chronic illness and that video-game–based interventions may constitute a component of a broader integrative approach to healthcare that synergistically combines rationally targeted biological and behavioral interventions to aid patients in the prevention, detection, treatment, and recovery from disease.

[7] Results of an fMRI study of Re-Mission showing the impact of the game on neurological processes were presented in August 2008 at the 10th International Congress of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Hopelab makes Re-Mission available at no charge to young people with cancer and their families, as well as oncology healthcare workers and institutions around the world.

Hopelab engages organizations and individuals worldwide to facilitate distribution of the game to teens and young adults with cancer.

[10] This reward-related activation is associated with a shift in attitudes and emotions that helped boost players’ adherence to prescribed chemotherapy and antibiotic treatments in a previous study.

The games are designed specifically for teens and young adults who are at risk of adverse cancer outcomes due to poor treatment adherence.