Francesca Borgnis

Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi | Don Gnocchi · Centro "S. Maria Nascente" I.R.C.C.S. , Milano

BACKGROUND Introduction: World Health Organization claimed that measuring outcomes is necessary to understand the benefits of assistive technology and create evidence-based policies and systems to ensure universal access to it. Specifically, in clinical practice, there is an increasing need for standardized methods to track individual assistive tec...

EXecutive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°) is an original 360° instrument for an ecologically valid and multicomponent evaluation of executive functioning. This work aimed to test the diagnostic efficacy of EXIT 360° in distinguishing executive functioning between healthy controls (HC) and patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PwPD), a neuro...

Introduction Telerehabilitation systems represent a promising way for the management of chronic disability, delivering technology-enabled rehabilitation outside the hospital setting. However, usability and acceptability assessment with users represents a critical starting point when using digital healthcare solutions. This study aims at evaluating...

Purpose This study tested the efficacy of digital-health home intervention for people within the Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-continuum. Methods Thirty people within the AD continuum were randomly assigned to a telerehabilitation (ABILITY; 6 males, Mage=78.2 ± 3.95) or treatment as usual (TAU; 8 males, Mage=77.13 ± 6.38), performing cognitive and phys...

Dati recenti dimostrano che le persone con malattie croniche, pur avendo un’aspettativa di vita maggiore rispetto al passato, hanno tuttavia un aumento considerevole degli anni vissuti con disabilità (DALYs - Disability-adjusted life years). Tale stima sui DALYs, è più che raddoppiata negli ultimi 30 anni, con conseguente crescente necessità di ria...

Introduction: Over the last decades, interactive technologies appeared a promising solution in the ecological evaluation of executive functioning. We have developed the EXecutive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°), a new instrument that exploits 360° technologies to provide an ecologically valid assessment of executive functioning. Aim:...

Introduction: Telerehabilitation (TR) for chronic heart failure (CHF) allows for overcoming distance barriers and reducing exacerbations. However, little is known about TR descriptors, components, and efficacy in CHF. Methods: This work systematically reviewed the TR strategies of randomized controlled trials in people with CHF. A meta-analysis...

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is increasingly employed as an ecological neuroimaging technique in assessing age-related chronic neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), mainly providing a cross-sectional characterization of clinical phenotypes in ecological settings. Current fNIRS studies in PD have investigated the...

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is at the top of the list of non-communicable diseases with related rehabilitation needs. Digital medicine may provide continuative integrated intervention, overcoming accessibility and cost barriers. Methods: We systematically searched for randomized controlled trials on telerehabilitat...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833136.].

The World Health Organization has defined assistive technologies (AT) as the fourth pillar of global health and supported identifying AT outcomes among the five top priorities in AT research. In this framework, the research study OMAT (Outcomes of Mobility Assistive Technology in rehabilitation pathways) was developed by Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocch...

Background Musician's Focal Dystonia (MFD) is the most common adult-onset dystonia involving the hand and can cause a professional music career to end. MFD affects about 1% of professional musicians and is a challenging clinical condition to treat. This work aimed to validate the Technical Ability and Performing Scale (TAPS), a newly-developed pati...

CONTEXT the current increasing demand for rehabilitation among people with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) requires the identification of home-based digital solutions alternative to conventional in-clinic interventions. OBJECTIVE this protocol proposes to test the effectiveness of an individualized telerehabilitation platform (SIDERA^B), with res...

Discriminating between Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and functional memory disorders (FMD) can sometimes be difficult because amnesic syndrome can be confused with memory dysfunction due to aging and/or depression. This work aims to translate, adapt and validate the five-word test (FWT) in an Italian sample (Test delle 5...

Introduction Executive dysfunctions constitute a significant public health problem: their high impact on everyday life makes it a priority to identify early strategies for evaluating and rehabilitating these disorders in a real-life context. The ecological limitation of traditional neuropsychological tests and several difficulties in administering...

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in using 360° virtual-reality video for an ecologically valid assessment of executive functioning in the neurologic population. In this framework, we have developed the EXecutive-functions Innovative Tool (EXIT 360°), an original 360°-based instrument for a multicomponent, ecologically valid evaluatio...

Over the last few decades, several studies have shown the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of VR-based instruments in the early evaluation of executive dysfunction (ED) in psychiatric and neurologic conditions. Due to the negative impact of ED in everyday functioning, identifying innovative strategies for evaluating ED allows clinicians to...

Executive dysfunction represents a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD), with a substantial negative impact on daily functioning and quality of life. Assessing executive functions (EFs) with ecological tools is therefore essential. The ecological limitations of traditional neuropsychological tests have led to increased use of virtua...

Executive dysfunctions constitute a significant public health problem due to their high impact on everyday life and personal independence. Therefore, the identification of early strategies to assess and rehabilitate these impairments appears to be a priority. The ecological limitations of traditional neuropsychological tests and the numerous diffic...

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the "modified graded motor imagery" (mGMI) protocol as a rehabilitative treatment of musician's focal dystonia (MFD). Methods: Six musicians with MFD (age 43.83±17.24 yrs) performed the home-based mGMI protocol (laterality training, imagined hand movements and visual mirror feedback) once...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor (resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, and gait disturbances) and nonmotor symptoms (cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and autonomic problems). In recent years, several studies demonstrated that neurorehabilitation therapy is an effective treatment in...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) causes significant functional and emotional impairments, with a high impact on the quality of life. The present article offers an overview of the primary technological instruments used in the assessment and treatment of OCD. Specifically, it reviews state-of-the-art assessment technologies and discusses the most...

Due to the lack of pharmacological treatment for dementia, timely detection of subjects at risk can be of seminal importance for preemptive rehabilitation interventions. The aim of the study was to determine the usability of the smart aging serious game (SASG), a virtual reality platform, in assessing the cognitive profile of an amnestic mild cogni...

The finding of mirror neurons (MNs) has provided a biological substrate to a new concept of cognition, relating data on actions and perceptions not only to integrate perception in action planning and execution but also as a neural mechanism supporting a wide range of cognitive functions. Here we first summarize data on MN localization and role in p...