RINASCERE – Riabilitazione ed INnovazione per l’Analisi Sostenibile del Cammino nella paralisi cERebrale infantilE
2026 – ongoing
Bando di Ateneo per progetti ad impatto sociale – POpS, Ed. 2025
RINASCERE is a pilot research project developed at the intersection of biomedical engineering and clinical rehabilitation, aimed at transforming the way motor impairments in children with cerebral palsy (CP) are assessed and monitored. Cerebral palsy is the leading cause of permanent motor disability in childhood, affecting approximately 2-3 per 1,000 live births, with around 1,000 new cases diagnosed each year in Italy alone. Although the neurological lesion underlying CP is non-progressive, its impact on posture, movement coordination, and functional autonomy profoundly shapes the life trajectory of affected children and their families.
Effective rehabilitation is essential to promote motor development and social participation. However, the evaluation of therapeutic outcomes still largely relies on observational clinical scales, which are inherently subjective and limited in reproducibility. Quantitative gait analysis systems based on multi-camera optical setups offer high accuracy, yet their high cost, need for specialized personnel, and requirement for skin-mounted markers restrict their availability to a small number of specialized centers. In regions such as Piedmont, fewer than four centers are equipped with such facilities, creating significant territorial inequalities in access to advanced motor assessment.
RINASCERE addresses this gap by developing a portable, low-cost, and non-invasive system for the integrated analysis of gait kinematics and muscle activity in children with CP. The proposed solution combines a single RGB-D camera with a high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) system, enabling the simultaneous acquisition of three-dimensional movement data and detailed muscle activation patterns. The markerless RGB-D approach reconstructs a subject-specific 3D biomechanical model of the child, extracting clinically relevant kinematic parameters without the need for reflective markers. In parallel, the HD-sEMG technology captures high-resolution spatial maps of muscle activation through surface electrode arrays, providing objective insights into spasticity and neuromuscular coordination during walking.
By integrating these complementary modalities into a synchronized acquisition and processing pipeline, RINASCERE aims to provide clinicians with objective, repeatable, and clinically interpretable metrics that can be used directly in outpatient settings. The system is designed to reduce evaluation time, lower operational costs, and simplify clinical workflows, while maintaining high analytical reliability. In doing so, it promotes a shift from qualitative observation toward data-driven, personalized rehabilitation planning.
Beyond its technological innovation, the project carries a strong social dimension. By enabling quantitative motor assessment in territorial outpatient centers, RINASCERE seeks to reduce disparities in access to advanced diagnostic tools and to strengthen continuity of care within the regional healthcare network. The long-term vision is to facilitate the widespread adoption of markerless and HD-sEMG-based assessment protocols across rehabilitation centers in Piedmont and progressively at the national level. This would not only improve clinical decision-making but also enhance the quality of life of children with CP, support families in their rehabilitation journey, and empower healthcare professionals with intuitive and standardized digital tools.
The project is carried out by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in wearable biomedical systems, 3D modeling, computer vision, and neuromuscular signal processing. Building upon validated scientific methodologies and established clinical collaborations, RINASCERE represents a concrete and sustainable step toward equitable, technology-enhanced pediatric rehabilitation.
