The Scuola Superiore Sant Anna and Peccioli ( )

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1 The Scuola Superiore Sant Anna and Peccioli ( ) 14 years of research and experimental validation of technological solutions for longevity, for rehabilitation and for life at home

2 Chronology Phase I: Survey on the elderly population in the municipality of Peccioli Design of the Service Centre and of the Care Home in Ghizzano EU Project PRESENCE Phase II: Training of the care operators and establishment of a new social cooperative 2001 Design of the Domotic House-Lab and of other SSSA Research labs and facilities in Peccioli, focusing on Assistive Technology and Gerontechnology 2001 Renovation of the Care Home in Ghizzano started 2002 Opening of the Peccioli Service Centre for elders and of the Domotic House-Lab 2002 Opening of the Polo Sant Anna Valdera, SSSA s Research Campus in Pontedera Phase III: 2003-today EU Project HUMAN Health through telematics for inmates EU Project LISA Learning in Senior Age 2003 Design of the Peccioli Research and Innovation Village EU Project LENA Learning in the Post-professional Phase EU Project MOVEMENT - Modular Versatile Mobility Enhancement Technology Tuscany Region Project RISDOM (Domestic Accidents) Tuscany Region Project ENABLE 2004 Start-up of the Spin-off company RoboTech Srl 2004 Start-up of the Spin-off company ERA Endoscopy Srl 2005 Start-up of the Spin-off company Dedalo Solutions Srl Realization of the first part of the Peccioli Research and Innovation Village 2009 Start-up of Fatronik Italy, with two projects in the field of Gerontechnology 2009 Major technological and functional upgrade of the Domotic House-Lab: the Ambient Assisted Living Lab 2009 Opening of the Care Home in Ghizzano 2

3 Peccioli for the Elderly: the small town living lab project A Service Centre for the Elderly, a Care Home, a house where users come into contact with new home technologies and where designers evaluate the relationship between users and technologies and the acceptability of the latter; rehabilitation and treatment centres; public and private research centres where systems and devices for independent daily life are developed; a University of Excellence playing a bridging role between the international scientific and technological community, Local Administrations and other Public Institutions; a group of new Hi-Tech SMEs specialised in the biomedical sector and in Ambient-Assisted-Living. All this contributes to the development of a general view that is highly innovative and potentially of great efficacy: a Living Lab spread over an entire small town by way of a territorial network of centres and distributed services, capable of promoting and supporting the improvement of the quality of life of weak citizens (elderly and disabled people) through diversified and articulated but at the same time highly coordinated interventions; a centre focusing on the experimentation and demonstration of new technologies and instruments in the fields of rehabilitation and gerontechnology, which intends representing a model in Europe and which also includes, among its objectives, the aim of favouring the creation and development of entrepreneurial initiatives around it, especially in the fields of biomedical and home technologies. This is what Peccioli for the elderly is today and this is what it intends being, even more so, in the years to come. First Phase ( ) The collaboration between the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna of Pisa and the Municipality of Peccioli began between 1995 and 1996 with the definition of an applied research Project called Peccioli for the Elderly. The aim of the project was to study new methods and to develop new instruments supporting the quality of life and independence of elderly people, as well as to activate, for this purpose, innovative structures and services. Peccioli for the Elderly immediately took the shape of an organic and articulated intervention plan in the field of social polices, supporting the older members of the local population, especially elderly citizens who were not completely self-sufficient. In detail, from the start, the project envisaged the design and development in Peccioli of two structures a Service Centre and a Care Home with particularly innovative features, resulting from the continuous exchange with research and experimentation activities ensured by the scientific coordination role appointed to the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna. The general philosophy of the project aims at overcoming the concept and, above all, the perception by users that care home structures are a final and irreversible solution to the loss of independence owing to old age and to its physical, cognitive and psychological consequences. The care home according to the Peccioli for the Elderly philosophy - is just one of the 3

4 instruments at the disposal of the disabled people and their relatives, thanks to which increasing needs for assistance may be addressed, even temporarily. Alongside the Care Home, therefore, the plan also envisaged the development as tangible alternative to the care home solution of a daytime home care service. The service is based upon the logistics and organisational abilities of a Service Centre that is highly integrated at territorial level and is provided with advanced methodological and technological skills and tools, for supporting the independence of citizens who are no longer self-sufficient. Alongside these two structures, designed to offer high-quality health services, the collaboration between the Municipality and Scuola Superiore Sant Anna envisaged specific spaces and facilities where the latter could carry out applied research activities, experimentation and validation of the developed systems, devices and methods, thus ensuring continuous benefits in terms of innovation of the services provided. During this phase, Peccioli was involved in the European project PRESENCE - enhancing presence of elderly people in local communities. Second Phase ( ) The Domotic House-Lab Among the range of spaces and of research and experimentation activities set up from the beginning of the first phases of the Peccioli for the Elderly project, the Domotic House-Lab has probably represented up to now the element that has gained most immediate visibility. Inside the House-Lab, thanks to the presence of engineers from the bioengineering laboratories of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, innovative criteria and approaches for technical and functional validation are defined to measure through actual use of the house the level of usability and acceptability of the domotic devices and systems and, more in general, the entire home system. The articulation and elaboration of new validation 4

5 methods is made possible thanks to the multidisciplinary approach of the workgroup, composed of mechanical engineers, electronic engineers, bioengineers, designers and psychologists with highly diversified skills who are able to deeply address the technical-functional aspects connected to the performances of the various devices and systems at study. The presence of psychologists within the workgroup enables the preventive analysis of any aspects connected to the user s emotiveness and personality, and, consequently, the identification of possible solutions to overcome low acceptability of the technologies by a single individual or specific type of users. Over the years, the Domotic House-Lab has accommodated experimental activities conducted within numerous research and development projects at public and private, regional, national and European scale. Today it intends to propose itself, thanks to the integration of the prototypes, as an experimentation laboratory for home-based Ambient Assisted Living applications. A new multidisciplinary research group focusing on technological aids and gerontechnologies Alongside the House-Lab and in strict connection with the activities carried out inside and with the entire Peccioli for the Elderly activity plan, two laboratories and a Research Centre operate in the structures of the Peccioli Produce complex, addressing issues and complementary problems related to population ageing and to disability, especially motor disability. The first laboratory addresses these issues in terms of biomechanics and ergonomics, with two main activity lines: determining the elderly person s remaining abilities in order to understand which methods and technologies may improve his/her independence in performing activities of daily living quantifying the actual improvement of sensory-motor abilities following the rehabilitation interventions carried out. The aim of the second laboratory, with abilities in the field of domotic and ambient intelligence technologies, of technological aids and of telemedicine, is the design and development of devices, systems and environments to improve the quality of life of the elderly and of motor disabled people. 5

6 Among the different fields of research and development in which the laboratory operates, the following may be mentioned: automation of home, hospital and predischarge-home environments; design of innovative devices for the independence of people with disabilities in performing activities of daily living; definition of guide lines and pilot actions in the field of medical teleassistance, reduction of home accidents and non-invasive monitoring of elderly people suffering from disabling cognitive pathologies. The final facility (and also the last to be conceived) among the laboratories and centres set up by the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna is the EZ-Lab in Peccioli: an interdisciplinary research centre focused on studying technologies and services supporting easier longevity. The centre combines an array of skills from engineering to socio-economic analysis, human factors, marketing, medicine, law, embracing all functional environments where active life is carried out: work, communication, mobility, living, health control, free time, and their interconnections. Ageing issues considered by the Scuola and the Municipality of Peccioli in the Peccioli for the Elderly project greatly overlap with disability concerns. Owing to this reason and to the presence of rehabilitation facilities of key importance in the area (from the Auxilium Vitae Foundation of Volterra to the Spa Rehabilitation Centres), the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna has actively sustained, from the start, the forming of strong links between the initiatives set up in Peccioli and a large range of research and experimentation activities which the Scuola itself has developed over the past 15 years in the field of technologies and rehabilitation services for people with motor disabilities, in strict collaboration with the health and rehabilitation system of the Area Vasta della Toscana Occidentale (Large Area of Western Tuscany). During this phase the Service Centre for the Elderly was started, based upon the functional design activities developed during the first phase; the Service Centre immediately started a series of entertainment, socialisation and daytime assistance activities, as well as introducing elderly citizens to the use of information and communication technologies. Finally, during this phase the Research and Innovation Village was designed: a hub for new small enterprises and research spin-offs, focusing on the creation of a territorial centre of excellence in the biomedical (with particular attention to longevity products and services), environmental / energetic and agro-food sectors. 6

7 Third Phase ( today) The Research projects This phase has featured intense research activities carried out in Peccioli within regional, national and European projects, including the following: European Project HUMAN The aim of the HUMAN project was to develop technological and organisational solutions for improving prisoner care performance, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. To achieve this, HUMAN designed, developed and validated in two different European sites a range of domotic and telemedicine services and technologies, tailored to the needs of this special class of users and of health personnel working in prisons. European Project LISA Learning in Senior Age LISA Learning in Senior Age set the aim of creating and consolidating Learning Regions, that is, social-territorial areas actively supporting the continuous learning of citizens, with particular attention towards the continuous education of elderly people. Peccioli was the Learning Centre of the Italian region involved, together with four other European cities: Graz (AUSTRIA), Hamburg (Germany), Almeirim (Portugal) and Leicester (ENGLAND and WALES) European Project LENA Learning in the Post-professional Phase LENA naturally followed on from the LISA project. It was carried out in the same regions as the previous project and also involved Ljubljana (SLOVENIA). The aim of LENA was to develop, using a participating and cooperative approach, a real empowerment educational programme for the elderly, representing the core of a truly Lifelong Learning curriculum. The various programme modules were designed and developed by directly involving groups of local elderly people, using focus group techniques. The activities carried out in the area of Peccioli basically focused on information and communication technologies and on the relationship between the elderly and technology. European Project MOVEMENT The ambitious aim of the MOVEMENT project (Modular Versatile Mobility Enhancement Technology) was to develop a modular robotic system supporting mobility in home environments for people with different levels and types of disability. The project outcome was a prototype of an extremely rich and complex system: a mobile robotic platform that is able to dock and transfer various modules, enabling, therefore, the mobility of objects (small 7

8 tables or furniture), information (IT terminals) and people (normal and special chairs for disabled people, or lifting/walking devices). These were all integrated with control functions and environmental automation. Two modules were developed and implemented in Peccioli (a multifunctional chair and a lifting/walking device) and extensive experimentation was performed with disabled users. Tuscany Region Project RISDOM (Domestic Risk) The RISDOM project, Accident risk analysis and the prevention, monitoring and management of home accidents was entirely carried out in Peccioli. Its aim was to define and experimentally verify, by way of research activities related to Bioengineering for Home Risk Prevention, a series of innovative technological methods and systems to prevent and reduce the risk of accidents at home. The first activity conducted within the project regarded the analysis of epidemiological data on home accidents (Reports by ISPESL (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention), CENSIS (Centre for Social Studies and Policies), etc.). The following research and development activity focused on two main areas: movement biomechanics for the prevention of accidents in general and specifically of falls, and the evaluation and design of instruments and devices, such as tools, automation, innovative devices for risk prevention, especially in the kitchen. A third line of research addressed techniques and methods for evaluating the social-economic impact of accidents. Integrated Project RT ENABLE The ENABLE project which finished at the end of 2008 was a very important opportunity for the School and its laboratories to transfer the results of research activities conducted in the territorial area of Western Tuscany within the health system, especially as regards rehabilitation services. The main aim of the ENABLE project was to study, develop and validate an intervention model that could respond effectively and in a personalised manner to the needs of disabled people and of the rehabilitation system in terms of maintaining or recovering the greatest possible level of independence, especially in the presence of highly impaired motor and functional capacities, as in the case of patients suffering from ALS. For this purpose, the 15 or so researchers involved in the project - using an interdisciplinary approach involving doctors and bioengineers developed a series of methods and technologies focusing on evaluation, on the accessibility and usability of environments and of working tools, and on person-machine interaction. Besides leaving new facilities, technologies and services for the evaluation, rehabilitation and design of personalised self-sufficiency interventions to the three Local Health Units of Pisa-Valdera, Livorno and Viareggio, the project achieved a series of results that initially had not been considered. Indeed, it showed how, thanks to the use of these technologies, cognitive and motor rehabilitation may be continued in situations where traditional rehabilitation is insufficient and may significantly reduce the psychological and physical burdens of caregivers. 8

9 An innovative development model In addition to the research activities, the third phase of involvement of the Scuola Sant Anna in Peccioli features the implementation of an innovative model for promoting and supporting collaboration between universities, industrial partners and local communities for social and economic development in the area of Peccioli and the entire Valdera area. During this period, many new small Hi-Tech enterprises came to light, some of which clearly oriented towards the biomedical sector and to the use of technologies for the independence and quality of life of disabled and elderly people. In particular, between 2004 and 2005 the following companies were founded: Microtech and Era Endoscopy (instruments for minimally invasive surgery), Robotech (Edutainment and service robotics), Dedalo Solutions (Technological solutions for personal independence). Concurrently, Peccioli became a focus for production and research activities carried out by existing biomedical companies, and for new financial resources (risk capital and institutional investors). With the aim to favour local economic development, the first part of the Peccioli Research and Innovation Village was realized. The last in order of time was the establishment of Fatronik Italy in Pontedera, Italian branch of the Spanish Research Centre, Fatronik Tecnalia, an important research foundation with headquarters in San Sebastián Donostia, in the Basque Country. Thanks to the partnership between the Scuola S. Anna and Fatronik Italy, the technological abilities and skills not only of Fatronik, but of the entire TECNALIA technological corporation (one of the five biggest private research corporations in Europe) have spread within Valdera. The collaboration has immediately given its first tangible results: two research projects in the field of longevity technologies, funded thanks to a large strategic programme of private investments in research and innovation for the quality of life. The projects are entirely managed by Fatronik Tecnalia and Peccioli will represent one of the most important experimentation sites involving disabled and elderly users. 9

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11 Promoting and funding Institutions of the project and of the described initiatives: Municipality of Peccioli Tuscany Region European Commission Fatronik Tecnalia Scientific Manager of Peccioli for the Elderly Prof. Paolo Dario, Scuola Superiore Sant Anna, Pisa For further information on the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna and its Bioengineering laboratories: Scuola Superiore Sant Anna: ARTS Lab: CRIM: 11