The CoE for INNOVATivE Technological and Robotic REHABilitation in CHILDren (CoE- REHAB-CHILD) – is located in Calambrone (Pisa), IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris (FSM).
This CoE was inagurated on December 3, 2024.
The CoE Center of Innovative Technologies and Robotics in Neurorehabilitation for children is a center of excellence for development, testing and validation of technological and robotic tools which has been created, studied, implemented and validated in the clinical practice, thanks to a strict collaboration among multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, engineers and data scientists, altogether with the mission of improving the assessment and rehabilitation of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and/or disabilities, integrating the clinical practice with the use of technological and robotic tools.
CoE- REHAB-CHILD is part of the IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, an excellent pediatric clinical center uniquely devoted to child and adolescent neurology and psychiatry, nationally and internationally recognized as an institute with high scientific impact in literature production for technological solutions and experimentations in infants and children with neurodevelopmental disorders and/or disabilities, and as coordinator of many national and international networks for tele-rehabilitation in children. Moreover, it is located in a valley where highly ranked and internationally recognized universities and research centers are present (as SSSA, UNIPI, UNIFI, UNISI, CNR Institutes) and it represents a sort of hub for developmental engineering.
REHAB-CHILD mission is to exploit new integrated and multifunctional rehabilitation models aimed at offering highly innovative solutions integrating technology and care, always for the benefit of children and their families.
The REHAB-CHILD is a unique facility in Italy as it is completely dedicated to robotic and digital rehabilitation for children. This new multidisciplinary hub of the INNOVATE Laboratory brings together clinicians, engineers, data scientists and researchers, working closely with families to develop, test and validate innovative technological tools.
The centre's main objectives are to test and validate existing commercial technologies, such as complex robots and virtual systems, often designed for adults, adapting them to the needs of children and adolescents by developing new integrated rehabilitation models. In addition, the centre aims to develop and test new technological solutions, co-created to meet the specific needs of young subjects with neurodevelopmental disorders and/or disabilities.
The 500 m² facility includes rehabilitation gyms equipped with highly innovative commercial devices and advanced prototypes. It is also a reference point for advanced studies on brain plasticity and movement analysis, with the aim of documenting changes in neuronal circuits and body movements after intensive treatments.
The need for a new space, unique in Italy, dedicated to innovative technologies for pediatric rehabilitation is based on two fundamental functions that the CoE Center can perform: the testing and validation of intensive rehabilitative multidomain trainings by means of commercial technologies (ranging from virtual systems to complex robots) through experimental clinical trials, in which new rehabilitation paths are being studied to combine technology with traditional rehabilitation, and the development and validation of new systems co-created and co-designed to address the specific needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities. The former is essential not only for developing new organizational models, but also for testing systems and implementing modifications where necessary, since the majority of commercial technologies, even if can be used in developmental age, are purposively developed for adult rehabilitation.
Additionally, in the Center there is the equipment for the exploration of involved brain networks through neurophysiological examinations for providing further quantitative rehabilitative-induced evidence of changes in neuronal circuits, in addition to movement analysis systems for detecting kinematic changes on the body movements and actions after intensive rehabilitation treatment.
The success and excellence of CoE- REHAB-CHILD relies on the strong muldidisciplinary network, where professionals from various fields work together, creating as a whole a unique team with the aim to create the best possible solutions for the children in their rehabilitation pathway. It is also focused on carrying out both pilot studies and large RTC studies validating the use of commercial technological platforms and robots in the pediatric population. An ideal location for the CoE has been selected in order to be very close to the active clinical center and to offer ample spaces; indeed, the entire translational research lab and clinical trial center covers about 500 m2. Another very important aspect is the reconditioning and the equipping; thanks to the project, we are able to equip the technological rehabilitative gyms with highly innovative devices that are used in the aforementioned trials. This Headquarter has been implemented thanks to the work of the multidisciplinary network, in collaboration with the executive offices of FSM and through the Fit4MedRob project in strong synergy with the Tuscany Universities (SSSA, UNIPI, UNIFI, UNISI) and the network of the other clinical partners of Fit4MedRob particularly active in rehabilitation of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities is carried out (FDG, IM, IG, FM).