The SmILE project addresses non-communicable musculoskeletal diseases (MSK-NCD), which increasingly affect the elderly, causing pain and loss of mobility. It uses innovative technologies, including wearable sensors and artificial intelligence, to monitor health, provide real-time data and support customised treatments. SmILE aims to improve self-management of MSK conditions, reduce healthcare costs and promote healthier ageing in Europe.
The research activity that will be carried out within the Department of Information Engineering by the group led by Prof. Mauro Serpelloni, Professor of Measurement, concerns the design, manufacture and testing of intelligent medical devices including prosthetic implants, orthoses and walking aids.
Specifically, a new intelligent orthosis will be designed that will not only reduce the mechanical load on the repaired structure, but will also monitor deformations and movements related to muscle and tendon tension and, through the project's platform, manage data and provide advice to users and healthcare personnel. The instrumented walking aids will monitor the user's forces and movements in real time; the integrated platform will manage the data and correct unwanted loading or poor posture.
In addition, prosthetic implants such as knee, hip and shoulder replacements and orthopaedic plates will implement innovative sensors printed directly on the surface of the use cases. The sensors will be manufactured using innovative printed electronics production technologies present in the laboratories of the University of Brescia (Aerosol Jet Printing, Photonic Curing, Piezojet Printing), which will allow greater sensitivity and flexibility compared to classic production techniques, enabling the use of unconventional materials and printing even on 3D surfaces.
Finally, in collaboration with important companies in the consortium such as Aesculap (Braun) and Swemac, solutions will be studied for measuring wear and estimating the stress suffered by knee and hip prostheses by incorporating force and wear sensors inside the prostheses themselves.