by It is therefore divided into different WPs, dedicated to the various ages and physical conditions of the individual.
Professor Giuseppe Andreoni of the Department of Design guides us through the project in general, and in particular into wp2 in which he is personally involved, dedicated to a coaching platform for older people.
Good morning, Professor Andreoni. His is a fundamental role in the ActivE³ project. Specifically, what is the scope of work package 2 (WP2), for which you are responsible?
WP2 is oriented towards active aging. It aims to build and test a personalized coaching platform to promote a healthy lifestyle that can reduce, if you will, the risks associated with advancing age: the App plus wearable device system and the platform of personalized physical activity and nutrition recommendations aims to promote healthy and active aging.
And what approach do you want to promote?
Through physical activity, socialising where possible through walking groups, and a healthy and balanced diet, following the food paradigms of the Mediterranean diet.
Which companies participate in ActivE³? How is your research team composed?
ActivE³ is an emblematic project co-financed by Fondazione Cariplo and the Lombardy Region, led by Univerlecco, which sees the participation of various actors belonging to the so-called Rehabilitation Valley, in the Lecco district. Colleagues from various departments operating on the Lecco Campus therefore participate.
In this case, our research group is composed of myself, professors Nicola Lopomo and Paolo Perego, Dr. Roberto Sironi, also from the Department of Design, and some research fellows.
There is a strong presence of ATS Brianza, with the figure of the general manager, Michele Brait, who also actively participates in the activities proposed in the tests of the platform. The coordination is carried out by Drs. Giovanna Pianta and Stefania Bolis, supported by other collaborators.
As for the ASST Lecco, Dr. Andrea Salmaggi and his group from the Lecco Hospital participate, who deal with the neuropsychological evaluation and blood tests, as well as with the Presidium of the Valduce “Villa Beretta” Hospital in Costa Masnaga for the physical tests with Dr. Franco Molteni, the engineer Eleonora Guanziroli and the physiotherapists in charge of carrying out the tests.
Then there is the CNR group, with Professor Rizzo and Dr. Alfonso Mastropietro, which deals with data analysis, together with Professor Manuel Roveri of the DEIB of the Politecnico di Milano, assisted by PhD student Alessandro Falcetta.
I would like to mention everyone, and I apologize to those I did not mention, but so many researchers are actively collaborating on the project.
A very heterogeneous, multidisciplinary group. What are the concrete advantages of systematizing the different skills of the Politecnico departments and external actors?
First, I would like to say that the human person is not a vertical being, but is composed of different domains: physical, physiological, cognitive, social, and even spiritual.
This is why the presence of experts in the various domains is essential when it comes to personal well-being: because well-being is an all-encompassing state, which cannot be linked simply to physical health or nutritional health.
We had already had the opportunity to experience this holistic approach in a previous European project, the Nestore project, funded in the Horizon 2020 framework program and dedicated to active aging. It was fundamental to deepen these dimensions and the methodologies of intervention in collaboration also with some of the entities of the partnership.
Within this WP2 it was essential to make all the various actors contribute with their skills, in order to build a platform that can be easily used, engaging and effective in interacting positively with people to promote the acceptance of the platform itself through the smartphone and adherence to the proposed actions; this is necessary for a positive result to be achieved in terms of prevention, i.e. improvement of the quality of life and reduction of the risk of diseases.
Does your activity take place entirely on the Lecco Campus?
I juggle between two campuses of the Politecnico: in Milan, at the Bovisa Candiani Campus, home of the Department of Design, and the Lecco Campus.
As far as research and teaching is concerned, linked in particular to wearable biomedical systems, I am attested to the Lecco Campus, where the SensibiLab, a laboratory of sensors and biomedical systems, is located. In particular, there we develop wearable sensors, often integrated directly into clothing, for the monitoring of certain physiological parameters applied to the world of clinical, rehabilitation, prosthetics, sport and safety in the workplace.
Your activity in the field of health and wellness research does not stop at the Politecnico, does it?
As part of a framework agreement with IRCCS Medea, I am also affiliated with the Institute, where I also hold the role of Coordinator of area 4, that of technological innovations in neurorehabilitation, human and mental factors.
What is your academic background?
I have always been involved in the issue of health: in fact, it was in the Bioengineering section of the DEIB that I took the first steps of my career, both by doing my doctorate and then becoming a researcher in 2000.
In 2008 I had the opportunity to join the Design department to create this interdisciplinary research unit called TeDH – Technology and Design for Health, which combines technology and design.
It is a centre of knowledge and expertise specialized in the production and application of research and design for the development of products, environments and services in the clinical/biomedical and wellness sectors.
Another way of systematizing Politecnico’s skills?
Sure. TeDH employs designers, biomedical engineers, electronic engineers, and architects, who together can face the challenges related to the design of the world of systems, products, services and health environments in an integrated way. Because, as I said before, the complexity of the healthcare issue requires a multidisciplinary approach, both in terms of methods and intervention skills.
Getting back to your career…
Yes, we were saying that since 2008 I have been working permanently at the Department of Design. In the meantime, I became an associate professor in Electronic Bioengineering having won a European project as principal investigator in 2014: the Pegasus project, related to the construction of a health promotion platform aimed at teenagers.
And then, a few years ago, I became a full professor in Design.
What is the role of the Department of Design in E⁴SPORT?
We take part in sports research activities, in many aspects: both with the wearable sensor part, linked to the measurement of physiological parameters in a non-intrusive way during the practice of sports activities for the measurement of performance or rehabilitation, to the planning and design of systems and their interfaces, up to the evaluation of ergonomics and usability of the systems themselves.
Where is WP2 of ActivE³ in the roadmap?
The first year and a half was dedicated to researching and building the platform. We focused on co-design with users, as far as the functionality and aesthetics of the app are concerned, because pleasantness and usability are then decisive for therapeutic adherence. And that’s what we want: that it be used as a digital therapy for full adherence and effectiveness.
Then the app was developed and tested with a preliminary group of users.
And then we get to the implementation…
Yes, this year the project has seen the completion from the point of view of implementation and the start of the clinical trial. In February, the recruitment of 200 people divided into four groups began as part of the clinical study approved by the Ethics Committee of the Politecnico di Milano.
But I’ll tell you more: the adhesion was so enthusiastic that from 200 we went to 243 people, of which 100 in the control group and 143 in the intervention group. To date, only four have given up on the study and we still have 239 active users who are taking part in the trial.
How long will the app testing phase take?
Between May and June, clinical trials were carried out at month 0 of the patients and after the learning phase, the clinical study officially started on 1 September. The clinical intervention planned with this app lasts twelve months, until July next year.
There will be three moments of verification. At month 0, when all batteries of tests have been carried out to determine the patient’s starting state: physical tests, neuropsychological tests and blood tests. At month 6, or in January, we will do the physical and blood tests again. At month 12, on the other hand, we will redo the whole battery of tests, to check how many people have actively participated in the path, if and how they have improved, if they have maintained a good state of health, if they have gone from a sedentary state to an active one, or even from an active one to a trained one, in addition to the neuropsychological and social aspects.
What is innovative about this approach you are developing, compared to the solutions currently on the market?
At the basis of our approach are behavioural theories. We offer a digital therapy based on behaviour change theories, aimed at promoting lifestyle changes for the purpose of improving health or preventing potential risks of diseases.
It should be noted that the app has been created in compliance with the new regulation on medical devices that came into force in 2023, so that an exploitation path can be activated with any interested actors.
Is doing research in the clinical, biomedical, and individual well-being sectors something that gives you and your group particular motivation and satisfaction?
Fondazione Cariplo call made explicit reference to the social utility of research. And our group, precisely as a mission, has research that not only explores, but that can truly reach the end user. In the ongoing projects in the Rehabilitation Valley, we try to move from basic research to applied research that reaches the patient.
First, a proper methodological approach and the technical and scientific validation of the systems we have developed are crucial. This will also make us ready for a transfer of technology or good practices in clinical practice.
In this way, research does not sit only in publications, in theory, sometimes even with prototypes in drawers, but can really reach patients and people who need it.
Do you and your team from the Design Department work on other sports-themed projects?
We have several projects involving wearable sensors, in prosthetics and ergonomics, and which also have an impact on the theme of sport in relation to performance measurement.
For example, there is a project, e-Liner, which started a year ago, in which we are involved in the development of innovative methodologies to produce sensorised prosthetic sockets. Then Dorian Gray, a European project related to cardiovascular prevention, will soon start.
I also remember the success of BUDD-e, the “robot” that helps visually impaired people in outdoor and indoor sports activities, in which we took part.
What developments do you see in the immediate future in sports and wellness research?
We can distinguish two levels of research in this field: applied research and frontier research.
Today we are living in the technological decade of wearables, wearable systems, some of the elements that characterize this era. By now almost everyone has objects on themselves, on their own wrists, that measure a series of parameters and performance in relation to their physical activity or participation in sporting events. And I’m not just talking about the New York City Marathon once a year, but the countless activities we do every day.
There is therefore a whole research theme on the effective acquisition of such a large amount of data, their processing and their interpretation. Data that can be extremely useful in the future, not only for the evaluation of performance, but also for studying trends in one’s health or any manifestations of risk factors.
And what about frontier research?
The most frontier research could be that linked to technologies. One of the visions that is proposed is that of embeddables, i.e. systems that can be integrated into the human body.
This can be another extremely interesting aspect, but it goes hand in hand with important technological developments about the energy management that is necessary to make them work. Where can we retrieve the one necessary for transmission inside and outside our body?
We will find out in the near future.
ActivE³ – WP2 project partners are: Univerlecco – lead partner Politecnico di Milano – Lecco Campus Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Lecco offices Fondazione Valduce, Ospedale Valduce, Rehabilitation Centre “Villa Beretta” IRCCS INRCA of Casatenovo IRCCS “Eugenio Medea” – La Nostra Famiglia Association ASST Lecco ATS Brianza