Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA)

The Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (www.sssup.it) is a public University with a special status admitting excellent students at graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral level in the sectors of engineering, medicine, agriculture, economics, law and political science. The mission of SSSA is to perform excellent research activity managed mostly by six Institutes, which are: BioRobotics, Law, Politics and Development, Economics, Management, Life Sciences and TeCIP – Institute of Communication, Information and Perception Technologies.

The BioRobotics Institute (IBR)

The Biorobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna was founded in January 2011 by Prof. Paolo Dario with the mission of performing research in the field of advanced robotics and it is located in Pontedera, Pisa. At present the Biorobotics Institute includes about 200 people, including 7 Full Professors, 4 Associate Professors, many Post-Doc researchers, and about 90 PhD students.

The main investigator, and scientific coordinator of OLIMPIA, Dr. Filippo Cavallo (MScEE, Phd in Bioengineering) is Assistant Professor at BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy, focusing on cloud and social robotics, ambient assisted living, wireless and wearable sensor systems, biomedical processing, acceptability and AAL roadmapping.

Azienda USL Toscana Nord-Ovest (AUSLTNO)

The Azienda USL Toscana Nord Ovest, established with regional law n. 84 of 28th Dec 2015, includes the ex ASL of Massa Carrara, Lucca, Pisa, Livorno e Viareggio. The company has over 13,000 employees, 2 billion euros in budget, 13 hospital establishments, 12 district areas and a resident population of over 1 million and 200 thousand inhabitants. The AUSLTNO is part of the National Healthcare Service (NHS).

Ospedale delle Apuane (OA)

The OA is the provincial reference point for acute and complex cases where every citizen is guaranteed an effective diagnostic, therapeutic and timely path. Care intensity assistance includes: High Intensity level: intensive and sub-intensive stays (e.g., Intensive care, stroke unit); Average Intensity level: the acute hospitalizations subdivided by functional areas (e.g., Medical, Surgical, Maternity ward); a Low Intensity level dedicated to post-acute patients.

The main investigator for OA-AUSLTNO is Dr. Carlo Maremmani which is associate medical director at the hospital admission/stay unit of the Neurology department of the ‘Ospedale delle Apuane di Massa’ – Azienda USL Toscana Nordovest. Responsible for the Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders Clinic.

Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria – Careggi (AOUC)

The AOUC is a public juridical entity and is endowed with entrepreneurial, organizational, administrative, patrimonial, accounting, managerial and technical autonomy it is integrated with the University of Florence and it is characterized by hospitalization, specialist outpatient services and emergency-urgency activities. It aims the development of highly specialized activities as reference for Area Vasta, at regional and national level, it carries out unitary and inseparable functions of assistance, teaching and research, constituting a structural element of the NHS, in particular of the SSR, and of the University System. It pursues the development of highly specialized activities and fosters innovation in the organizational and clinical-assistance fields, also through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies for diagnosis, treatment and translational research.

Clinica Neurologica I

The Clinica Neurologica 1 is directed by prof. Sandro Sorbi and includes a team of clinicians that treat the chronic, inflammatory, and degenerative disease, and with complex diagnosis of the nervous system with high care intensity and experimental treatments, in particular: dementia, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular diseases, rare neurological diseases, movement disorders, and Parkinson’s disease. The activity are performed as ordinary hospitalization, Day Hospital, outpatient and counseling.

The main investigator involved in the project, Dr. Silvia Ramat works as Neurologist at AOU Careggi in Florence. Responsible of Outpatient Service for Parkinson’s Disease at Dipartimento Neuromuscoloscheletrico e degli Organi di Senso of AOU Careggi. Her main interest is related to Parkinson’s Disease and Parkinsonisms, in particular study of biomarkers, diagnostic methods, neuropsychological and psychiatric aspects and neurosurgical treatment.

Azienda USL Toscana Centro (AUSLTC)

The AUSLTC includes the ex AUSL of Firenze, Empoli, Prato, and Pistoia. The company with an area of 5000 km2 and 1’500’000 of assisted workers has over 14’000 employees, 13 hospitals, 220 territorial structures, 9 district areas, 8 Società della Salute.

Ospedale Santa Maria Annunziata (OSMA)

The OSMA is a public hospital located in Bagno a Ripoli. It was built in the late 60s, becoming full operative in the early 80s. The central and the base of the helicopter are available. The OSMA is the main hospital of the Hospital Presidium Florence II, which also includes the Borgo San Lorenzo Hospital and the Figline Valdarno Hospital.

The main investigator for OSMA-AUSLTC is Dr. Paola Vanni. She has been involved in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years with focus on the screening and on the advanced stages of the disease. She is co-founder and since than reference physician of the Florence Parkinsonian Association and, at present, she is group leader of the Parkinson and Movement Disorders Team in the Neurology department SOS of the Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital in Florence.

National Research Council (CNR)

The National Research Council (www.cnr.it) is the main Italian public research authority. It has the task of carrying out, promoting, disseminating, transferring and enhancing scientific and technological research activities in the main sectors of knowledge development and their applications, promoting scientific, technological, economic and social progress.

The Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC-CNR)

The Institute of Clinical Physiology (www.ifc.cnr.it) is the largest biomedical research institute in the clinical field of CNR; headquartered in the research area of the CNR in Pisa and with secondary departmens in Milan, Lecce, Rome, Siena, Massa and Reggio Calabria, it has a staff of over 300 “experts”, of which 129 are confirmed researchers and technologists. The focus of research in IFC-CNR is on etiopathogenesis, diagnostics and therapy of cardio-pulmonary diseases and institute’s activities are the synergy of four main areas of interest: Clinical Pathophysiology, Experimental Medicine, Molecular and Cellular, Techno-sciences (e-health, nanomaterials, biotechnology) and epidemiology (clinical, environmental, social and molecular).

The main investigator for IFC-CNR is Dr. Stefano Salvadori (CNR Researcher, statistician, PhD in public health and education, adjunct professor) who participated as a biostatistician at research on the pathology of Parkinson’s and other diseases, with publications in international journals.