This initiative consists of constructing a training course for post-stroke treatment, where the aim is to improve patient rehabilitation applying new technologies that can eventually be used at home. We know that, among all the causes of physical disability, cerebrovascular accidents are the primary cause of permanent disability in adults, and is partially the result of people living longer on average. Strokes are likely to occur later in life and are the third most common cause of death in Italy and the main European countries, following closely on the heels of cancer and cardiovascular deceases. New technologies at the service of stroke patients’ rehabilitation are now a reality, but they are few and far between, limited to a scattering of centres of excellence in a handful of countries. The potential of these technologies to improve the patients’ medical care is hindered by the lack of sufficient knowledge, among medical professionals and elsewhere, on how to apply these technologies in a clinical setting, as well as the necessary expertise.

Brain4Train – Development of an innovative course on how to apply virtual reality in the field of stroke rehabilitation – is a project focused on functional biomechanical assessment and the application of virtual reality and other innovative solutions in order to construct a body of shared knowledge among and for professionals who work in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients. The European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ESPRM, the scientific association for rehabilitation doctors in Europe) is now participating in the project, making it possible to promote and spread these new technologies, so that they can truly contribute towards improving a sector of neurological rehabilitation in EU countries.
The project is funded by the European Union within the Erasmus+ programme.