As part of the X-BRAIN.net project, which is being implemented under the Interreg VI-A Italy–Slovenia 2021–2027 programme, a press conference was held on Wednesday, 20 August 2025, in the run-up to the project’s closing event. At this event, the most important results and conclusions from two years of cross-border research cooperation were presented to the public.
The project was presented to the media by Gianni Biolo, project coordinator and professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Trieste, Luka Šlosar, researcher at the Institute for Kinesiological Research at the ZRS Koper, and Paolo Manganotti, head of the Department of Neurology at Cattinara Hospital.
In the first phase of the project, the consequences of long-term bed rest after a stroke were investigated. The results showed that patients who had completed a one-month programme of proper diet and exercise prior to immobilisation suffered only minimal muscle loss, while others showed significant deterioration and required longer rehabilitation.
The second phase focussed on the creation of innovative therapy rooms for post-stroke rehabilitation, which were set up in the Cattinara and Izola hospitals. These rooms, equipped with advanced rehabilitation equipment, have been in operation for over a year and have been very well received by both patients and therapists. Innovations include a therapeutic video game with an elasticated band and sensors, that allows patients to perform movement tasks in a virtual environment.
The press conference, which was attended by 25 journalists from Slovenia, Italy and the region, attracted a great deal of media interest. X-BRAIN.net has proven to be not only a successful example of cross-border cooperation, but also a best practise for the integration of digital technologies in medical rehabilitation.
Media posts:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15h3asHaBb/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.primorski.eu/trzaska/proti-posledicam-mozganske-kapi-tudi-z-videoigrami-FC1958502
https://www.rtvslo.si/rtv365/arhiv/175153618?s=tv_ita
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.31.551097v2
