Beatrice Barbazzeni
Ph.D. Student in Neuroscience
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Check below my latest research projects in Neuroscience, HealthTec Innovation Design, Entrepreneurship and Exponential Technologies.
Latest Projects
NEUROFEEDBACK TRAINING TO IMPROVE WORKING MEMORY
Working memory (WM) performance can be influenced by motivational factors which in turn can be associated with specific brain oscillatory activities. We investigated whether providing individuals online feedback about their ongoing brain oscillatory activity (EEG-Neurofeedback, NF) can improve WM performance under high and low motivational expectancies. We focused on alpha oscillations and their known suppression by the anticipation of reward.
Since 2018
DIGITAL SCIENTIST 2035 - AN OUTLOOK ON INNOVATION AND EDUCATION
With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution accompanied by the Internet of Things, the implementation of smart technologies and digitalization already had a great impact in our society, especially when considering exponential innovation and human development. In this context, some types of employment have already been replaced or have been enhanced by the use of robots, human-machines interfaces and Artificial Intelligence systems. And there is likely more to come. If innovation can be viewed as a direct or indirect outcome of scientific research, which role will a scientist play in 2035? We developed a survey to investigate the opinions of scientists with respect to the possible future implementation of disruptive technologies, their feelings and approaches to digitalization, and particularly the impact of digital transformation on scientific education. In a futuristic scenario, we can imagine that scientists will be supported by technologies, carrying out numerous experiments, managing big datasets, producing accurate results, increasing communication, openness and collaboration among the worldwide scientific community, where ethics, regulations and social norms will always be observed. The new era of Digital Science is coming, in which humans will start to incorporate more disruptive and advanced technologies into their daily life; essential aspects for exponential innovation and development.
2021
A STRUCTURED PATHWAY TOWARDS DISRUPTION: A NOVEL HEALTHTEC INNOVATION DESIGN CURRICULUM WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN MIND
The typical curriculum of training and educating future clinicians, biomedical engineers, health IT, and artificial intelligence experts lacks needed 21st-century skills like problem-solving, stakeholder empathy, curiosity stimulation, entrepreneurship, and health economics, which are essential generators and are pre-requirements for creating intentional disruptive innovations. Moreover, the translation from research to a valuable and affordable product/process innovation is not formalized by the current teachings that focus on short-term rather than long-term developments, leading to inaccurate and incremental forecasting on the future of healthcare and longevity.
The Stanford Biodesign approach of unmet clinical need detection would be an excellent starting methodology for health-related innovation work, although unfortunately not widely taught yet. We have developed a novel lecture titled HealthTec Innovation Design (HTID) offered in an interdisciplinary setup to medical students and biomedical engineers. It teaches a future-oriented view and the application and effects of exponential trends. We implemented a novel approach using the Purpose Launchpad meta-methodology combined with other innovation generation tools to define, experiment, and validate existing project ideas. As part of the process of defining the novel curriculum, we used experimentation methods, like a global science fiction event to create a comic book with Future Health stories and an Innovation Think Tank Certification Program of a large medical technology company that is focused on identifying future health opportunities.
We conducted before and after surveys and concluded that the proposed initiatives were impactful in developing an innovative design thinking approach. Participants' awareness and enthusiasm were raised, including their willingness to implement taught skills, values, and methods in their working projects. We conclude that a new curriculum based on HTID is essential and needed to move the needle of healthcare activities from treating sickness to maintaining health.
2021
FORECASTING THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE DEMOCRATIZATION - AN IMPERFECT BUT VALUABLE SCIENCE
Health longevity, cost reduction, prevention-based healthcare, personalized medicine, predictive diagnostic, transformed care delivery, de-aging, healthy lifestyle trends, and implementation of intelligent technologies should lead to a more democratized (availability for everyone on this planet) healthcare provision. Forecasting the future of healthcare and health policy certainly is imperfect but nevertheless a precious scientific approach that can lead to novel innovative approaches. In the last decade, the healthcare system faced several challenges, including the significant increase of care costs, demographic changes towards the older population, inability to prevent and overcome pandemics, increased chronic and non-communicable diseases, or resistance to adopting emerging technologies. The need to shift the focus from sickness to health becomes a critical mission. We developed a lecture titled "Healthtech Innovation Design" for graduate students from medicine, biomedical engineering, neuroscience and software engineering. The lecture's goal is to teach innovation methodologies, exponential technologies and methods to achieve healthcare democratization. A critical component is to promote initiatives with global teams focused on the future of health. The educational and initiative programs were impactful in growing interest toward innovation, focusing on disruption and healthcare democratization. Participants awareness towards the main issues and challenges was raised. Interdisciplinary participation was qualitatively processed to generate a holistic vision toward innovation. Through embracing digitalization to a patient-centric approach, affordable care services, and the expansion of precision medicine, the entire healthcare organization and management will likely undergo a worldwide change. Notably, digital technologies, the leverage of artificial intelligence and empathy would satisfy unmet clinical needs. With a future-oriented statement, the forecast of healthcare becomes more imaginable, in which democratization will allow the affordability of services in different countries and economic status.
2021
EXOBOT: THE INNOVATIVE PROPOSAL SUPPORTING AND ENHANCING PHYSICAL MOTION OVERCOMING MOTOR DYSFUNCTION
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are considered one of the most common cause of chronic disability around the world. Symptoms are characterized by pain and discomfort, often interfering with simple daily life activities due to the limitation of motion and mobility. So far, the treatment is planned accordingly with the specific diagnosis type. Based on high healthcare systems costs and long-term rehabilitation sessions, medication and physical exercise are usually prescribed although the complete motor recovery cannot be always guaranteed. In order to meet patients’ needs, we suggest ExoBot: a newest technology supporting and enhancing physical motion overcoming motor dysfunction. ExoBot is a mobile App wirelessly connected with an exoskeleton to support physical rehabilitation in order to regain normal movement, posture, flexibility and mobility. With this project proposal we aim to provide a novel rehabilitation solution designed for guidance and supervision of professionals. Moreover, our aim is to allow users to take care of their own health individually, anytime and anywhere. Looking to innovative perspectives, ExoBot would enable patients to regain their mobility by providing the optimal solution to an unsolved clinical problem.
2021
EEG NEUROFEEDBACK TO MODULATE ALPHA OSCILLATIONS IN PRECLINICAL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A RESEARCH PROTOCOL
Memory impairments in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are signified by the progressive accumulation of amyloid plaques and impaired brain oscillations. Although there is no accepted treatment to stop the progression of AD and its preclinical stages (pAD), besides pharmacological interventions new approaches have been developed to delay its progression. Cognitive training (CT) and neurofeedback (NF) showed their efficacy in enhancing brain oscillations and in improving cognitive functions. Thus, the proposed protocol aims to restore impaired brain oscillations in a group of pAD by implementing NF training. In particular, we focus on alpha and theta oscillations known to be dysfunctional in pAD when compared to a healthy aging group. We investigate whether:
● NF enhances alpha suppression in a single session treatment
● The modulation of alpha oscillations benefits the amelioration of theta oscillations.
NF training is applied in a group of 25 pAD and 25 healthy volunteers of the same age (control group). If the results of our protocol show improvements in enhanced alpha and theta oscillations in pAD, this non-invasive technique should be considered as an innovative therapeutic method in ameliorating oscillations in early dementia. Successively, more research will be required to assess this treatment option.
Since 2020
BeAWARE: EMPOWERING & DEMOCRATIZING AWARENESS OF TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE
Several innovative technologies are already implemented in healthcare and a lot is yet to come, but are they ready to accept them? How can we promote awareness and trust using disruptive technologies?
Understanding the change is the key to successfully accepting it.
BeAware aims to enhance awareness toward exponential technologies applied on healthcare; from what they are to how they work. A simple App, easily understandable and ageless to promote awareness toward innovative and exponential technologies supporting the future of healthcare.
With 4 ExO attributes of Community & Crowd, Algorithms, Engagement and Interfaces.
We aim to spread and enhance our MTP: “Empowering and democratizing awareness of technology in healthcare”.
We designed it to be: digitized, deceptive, disruptive, demonetized, dematerialized, and democratized. The 6Ds that can change the future!
See our idea at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXdVNESDfYE
2021
NEUROFEEDBACK TRAINING BASED ON EEG TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN HEALTHY AGING AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A REVIEW
Neurofeedback based on EEG is a method to self-regulate and optimize brain activity patterns underlying cognition and behavior. It raised particular interest as an innovative, non-invasive tool to enhance cognitive performance not only in the healthy population, but also against a variety of neurological and physiological disorders. In the current review article, we present an overview of recent progress in the application of neurofeedback training, particularly in the elderly population. In addition, we extend our review evaluating the implementation of neurofeedback in the clinical context of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and its early stages. In conclusion, we outline our considerations based on previous literature studies and speculate about future developments.
Since 2020
DIGITAL MULTIMODAL CARE CONCEPT FOR DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
In collaboration with Siemens Healthineers at the Innovation Think Tank Certification Program, my team and I developed a digital multimodal concept for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. We identified patients pain, involved stakeholders and the effects that traditional medical approaches have on the disease to satisfy unmet clinical needs with our solution. In the perspective of patient centered home-care, we suggested a Brain-Computer interfaces (BCI) Toolkit for communication combined with a data supported Artificial Intelligence (AI) for disease prevention.
In the proposed solution, BCI enhances virtual communication of patients:
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to help express themselves
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to increase the efficiency of social life
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to enhance patients’ emotional state
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to regulate/enhance its functioning.
Moreover, there is a limited availability of healthcare facilities and expert staff for the whole population. We need to outsource easy treatment and care and enable family and relatives to care and cure their beloved ones. The proposed approach tries to connect the availability of healthcare equipment as well as the training amateurs to minimize the time of hospital stays and extend the sense of well-being for patients using and improving current infrastructure. Our motivations are:
•Home treatment
•Utilizing already existing infrastructure to provide healthcare to the population in respective of their location
•Remote experts supporting home care personal in their activities (hotline / video assistance
•Collaboration of healthcare providers, health insurance and med tech company to endow home facilities appropriate to the special needs of dementia and alzheimer patients.
Finally, we suggested an E-Health platform – smartphone incorporating various innovative wearable technologies capturing health data through sensors (digital biomarkers). The health data from patients would be integrated and shared with any healthcare providers (Labs, Doctors, Radiology, System) to be used in telemedicine platforms, in clinical trials, and clinical analysis (symptom severity). Our motivations are:
•Moving healthcare from Hospitals to Home
•Prevent the dementia in high risk groups
•Incremental Implementation of Personalized Medicine and Precision diagnostics.
2021
ENGAGING THROUGH AWARENESS: PURPOSE-DRIVEN FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT TO EVALUATE AND DEVELOP FUTURE BUSINESS STRATEGIES WITH EXPONENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES TOWARDS HEALTHCARE DEMOCRATIZATION
Industry 4.0 and digital transformation will likely come with an era of changes for most manufacturers and tech industries, and even healthcare delivery will likely be affected. A few trends are already foreseeable such as an increased number of patients, advanced technologies, different health-related business models, increased costs, revised ethics, and regulatory procedures. Moreover, cybersecurity, digital invoices, price transparency, improving patient experience, management of big data, and the need for a revised education are challenges in response to digital transformation. Indeed, forward-looking innovation about exponential technologies and their effect on healthcare is now gaining momentum.
Thus, we developed a framework, followed by an online survey, to investigate key areas, analyze and visualize future-oriented developments concerning technologies and innovative business models while attempting to translate visions into a strategy toward healthcare democratization.
2021
SCIFI - HIVE: THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE
In collaboration with OpenExO SciFi Hive: the Future of Healthcare, we developed a scientific comic book creating the future of healthcare with innovative ideas. Many healthcare providers/professionals find it difficult to truly innovate when operational excellence is the number one priority in most organizations. In response to this, SciFi Hive is an online workshop to inspire free thought and imagine a new future of healthcare that will change the world.
Seven comic stories were created on different healthcare topics: future of human healthspan/longevity, future of overall health/wellness, future of home care, future of emergency care/hospitals, democratization of healthcare (moving to abundance), future of health diagnostics.
See our comic book at: https://scifihive.com/healthcare/
Since 2022