A center of excellence specializing in cognitive rehabilitation, the IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, located at the Lido in Venice, is one of the longest-standing clinical and research partners of Restorative Neurotechnologies.
Translator’s note: in Italy, IRCCS stands for “Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico”, a prestigious label given to the hospitals that also conduct research activities.
Today we listen to the experience of dr. Francesca Burgio and Laura Danesin, both psychologists at IRCCS San Camillo. Dr. Burgio is Head of the Neuropsychology Service and the Neuropsychology Lab at San Camillo. She is a Psychotherapist with a specialization in Neuropsychology and a researcher involved in numerous national and international projects aimed at the development of new rehabilitation technologies, especially in the field of Telerehabilitation and Artificial Intelligence.
Dr. Francesca Burgio
Dr. Danesin collaborates within the Neuropsychology Laboratory of the IRCCS San Camillo and is a PhD student in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Pavia. She is interested in studying the cognitive, motor and biological correlates of innovative treatments in neurological patients. Her doctoral project involves the use of MindLenses Professional in patients with stroke and mild cognitive impairment.
Here you can find a short clip about this conversation!
Let’s start with a simple question: how did you find out about MindLenses and what pushed you to try it?
Well, one needs to stay up-to-date, especially in relation to new rehabilitation devices, whose offering has blossomed in the past few years thanks to the advancements in digital technologies. We already knew Prof. Massimiliano Oliveri [founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Restorative], with whom we also collaborate on other projects. When we found out he had launched MindLenses Professional from his lab, we were immediately struck by the ease of delivery of the exercises and the automatic adaptation of the difficulty levels based on the capabilities of the patient. Furthermore, we were really interested in the possibility of automatically viewing the scores obtained from the exercises session by session.
How is MindLenses Professional integrated into your clinical practice?
MindLenses is currently part of the neurorehabilitation clinical offering at the IRCCS San Camillo. Upon being admitted to the hospital, the patient receives a series of clinical assessments, including neuropsychological ones. Based on the results of these assessments and the patient’s specific needs, the therapeutic plan is chosen with the rehabilitation option that best suits her needs. Among these options, MindLenses Professional is also present as a device for cognitive rehabilitation.
Which kind of patients do you refer to therapy with MindLenses Professional?
MindLenses is offered to patients with stroke or mild cognitive impairment, understood both as a prodromal phase of dementia (e.g. Alzheimer’s) and as a consequence of Parkinson’s disease. This is in the context of a specific research projects [see here for more information about research behing MindLenses Professional. Result from scientific work with IRCCS San Camillo can be found here and here.]
One of the output of the scientific work originated from the collaboration between Restorative Neurotechnologies and IRCCS San Camillo. Danesin L., Oliveri M., Semenza C., Bottini G., Burgio F. (2024, January 21–26). Cognitive effects of a treatment combining prismatic adaptation and serious games in stroke patients. 42nd European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Brixen, Italy.
Within the Neuropsychology Service, however, MindLenses is used with patients with a variety of other neurological diseases (e.g. Stroke, Head Trauma, Multiple Sclerosis) who mainly show attentional difficulties affecting the executive system or at a visuospatial level.
What is the reaction of patients to the introduction of tablet and glasses therapy?
Some patients immediately accept the use of the tablet, which they perceive as a dynamic and “fun” device. Other patients, especially older ones, sometimes need a few sessions to become familiar with the technology. However, after this first phase, almost all patients report positive experiences. Thanks to the intrinsic game approach in the exercises, they feel personally involved in the rehabilitation process.
In addition to his use with patients, MindLenses is also the object of a clinical trial at San Camillo. Do you want to tell us more about the goals of this clinical trial and it current status?
The clinical trial aims to use MindLenses Professional in patients with Stroke or mild cognitive impairment, exploring the effects on both a cognitive, motor and biological level. In fact, the use of prismatic lenses would allow us to increase brain plasticity, i.e. to make the brain more responsive to the treatment received, thus increasing its beneficial effects.
To investigate this possibility, the treatment with MindLenses is compared with two different therapeutic interventions: on the one hand, the classic cognitive treatment routinely offered by the hospital and, on the other, a treatment that uses the serious games implemented in MindLenses but without the the use of prismatic lenses.
Currently, we have recruited approximately 80% of the study sample and we can say that the preliminary results are promising.
One of the aspects we appreciate most is the ease of use and administration of the exercises
What is the aspect you appreciate most about MindLenses Professional?
One of the aspects we appreciate most is the ease of use and administration of the exercises.
The short duration of the rehabilitation sessions (approximately 20-30 minutes maximum) means that MindLenses can also be used with fatigued patients who would not be able to sustain longer sessions. Furthermore, the exercises have a reduced linguistic component, and can therefore also be performed with patients with aphasia or difficulties in linguistic production.
The short duration of the rehabilitation sessions means that MindLenses can also be used with fatigued patients who would not be able to sustain longer sessions
Would you like to tell us the story of some patient who particularly surprised you with the result obtained at the end of the course?
Let’s talk about a particularly significant one. A short time ago, a 51-year-old lady was admitted at San Camillo Hospital for rehabilitation following a left hemorrhagic stroke in the parieto-occipital area. She showed widespread deficits in various cognitive domains, such as attention, memory, executive functions, ability to perform calculation (and she was a shop owner!). She also had difficulties at the level of motor programming in reaching objects, a condition known as optic ataxia) After a cycle of treatment with MindLenses, this patient significantly improved attention, executive and visuospatial levels, also showing a reduction in optic ataxia. After she was discharged, she returned to work, where she only requires supervision in some tasks.
Click here to read a longer PDF version of this story!
More information on IRCCS San Camillo
The IRCCS San Camillo is located in Via Alberoni, 70 in Venice. For information on therapies with MindLenses Professional you can contact Dr. Francesca Burgio (Coordinator of the Neuropsychology Service) at the email address francesca.burgio@hsancamillo.it.
About San Camillo’s scientific output with MindLenses:
- [POSTER PRESENTATION] Danesin L., Oliveri M., Semenza C., Bottini G., Burgio F. (2024, January 21–26). Cognitive effects of a treatment combining prismatic adaptation and serious games in stroke patients. 42nd European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Brixen, Italy. LINK
- [TALK AT CONFERENCE] Danesin, L., Oliveri, M., Semenza, C., Bottini, G., Burgio, F.. Cognitive effects of a treatment combining Adattamento Prismatico and serious games in stroke patients. Oral Presentation at III Annual Meeting of Rete IRCCS. November 30, 2023.
- [POSTER PRESENTATION] Danesin et al (2022, January 24–28). A new approach in the treatment of Optic Ataxia: Evidence from a single case study. [Conference poster]. 43rd European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Brixen, Italy. LINK
