Meet the expert of eBRAIN-Health

Prof. Babiloni’s team contributes to Work Packages 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10 of eBRAIN-Health. They designed and implemented the SmartMe&You–Telemaia platform (WP7), which supports the remote assessment and training of cognitive functions while monitoring key dementia-related risk factors, such as physical activity, cardiovascular stress, and sleep quality. The platform is fully integrable into clinical care pathways for monitoring individuals with cognitive frailty, cognitive decline, or dementia associated with neurodegenerative diseases.

Additionally, the team is advancing the EEG signal ontology (WP4) and developing biophysical models of cortical excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations (WP6), ensuring the stability and reproducibility of machine-learning outputs (WP8), and maintaining continuous engagement with patients and their families through dedicated outreach activities (WP10).

Among the main milestones, Prof. Babiloni’s team finalized the formal definition of the EEG signal ontology for clinical application in Alzheimer’s disease, which encompasses rigorous procedures for data acquisition, artifact removal, and advanced spectral and source analysis of both periodic and non-periodic EEG components (WP4). They have also made significant progress in developing biophysical models of excitatory/inhibitory neuronal populations related to cortical arousal and vigilance in patients with Alzheimer’s and Mild Cognitive Impairment (WP6). Crucially, the SmartMe&You platform has been developed and integrated in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) procedures for secure data access and storage (WP7). Furthermore, the team has established a continuous dialogue with patient associations, such as the Alzheimer Foundation in Rome, to support a shared definition of research goals (WP10).

Prof. Babiloni’s group encountered challenges in identifying suitable members for the Public and Policy Advisory Group (PPAG) of the eBRAIN-Health project. The team contacted individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease from academic clinical units at the General Hospital "Sant’Andrea" and the General Hospital "Policlinico Umberto I" of Sapienza University of Rome.

Although detailed information was provided and full support was offered for their potential involvement, some individuals withdrew for personal reasons and due to the language barrier, as they felt uncomfortable participating in English-language video conferences. Others initially accepted at the time of contact but did not respond to follow-up communications from either Alzheimer Europe or the research team.

To date, Prof. Babiloni’s group has contacted the top management of the "Italian Federation of Alzheimer’s Associations" and the head of "Associazione Alzheimer's Roma" to identify additional potential stakeholders and is currently awaiting their input. Furthermore, the team proposes to agree on the questions jointly with the partners of the eBRAIN-Health project and to collect input locally in Italian, if needed.

The team‘s contribution supports the development of the eBRAIN-Health platform as a central hub within the European research network for dementia prevention and clinical innovation. The SmartMe&You-Telemaia platform serves as a multi-functional tool: it provides a robust instrument for continued scientific research, offers an essential service to memory clinics for active aging and clinical management, and acts as a resource for citizens supporting the primary prevention of dementia-related diseases. By defining strict data quality standards (WP4) and ensuring result stability (WP8), Prof. Babiloni’s group helps guarantee the reliability of the platform's core functions.