Thematic Session 10

THEMATIC SESSION #10

Fortuna Galdieri

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy

• fortuna.galdieri@unina.it

Antonio Esposito

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy

• antonio.esposito9@unina.it

Mario Ortiz Garcia

Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche, Spain

• mortiz@umh.es

Jose Maria Azorin Poveda

Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche, Spain

• jm.azorin@umh.es

This thematic session involves advancements in active brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) driving innovation in rehabilitation, assistive technologies, as well as diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease. Motor imagery-based BCIs are pivotal for motor impairment recovery, with expanding applications in neurodegenerative conditions, but even paradigms leveraging visual and auditory potentials are exploited to this aim.

Emphasizing real-world applications, the session focuses on real-time, non-invasive systems that enhance motor recovery, independence, and long-term engagement. Key challenges include developing robust, user-friendly, and sustainable solutions, with transfer learning sought to optimize training efficiency. Contributions in advanced signal processing, artifact removal, and reliable data acquisition are highly encouraged.

Neurofeedback technologies—including AR/VR, mind-controlled exoskeletons, and assistive robots—will be central themes, unlocking new care strategies. A major focus is telerehabilitation, integrating BCIs with remote monitoring for personalized home-based care, addressing adaptive feedback and tailored rehabilitation needs.

This session seeks to inspire innovations that empower patients and advance neurorehabilitation. Researchers, technicians, and clinicians are invited to contribute.

The list of topics includes the following ones:

• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Motor impairments
• Brain-Computer Interfaces
• Mental and motor imagery
• Healthcare
• Rehabilitation and telerehabilitation
• Wearable instrumentation
• Electroencephalography
• Neurofeedback
• Online biosignal processing
• Artifact removal techniques
• Exoskeletons and assistive robots
• Extended reality
• Transfer learning
• Unsupervised learning

Fortuna Galdieri is a PhD student enrolled in the “Information and Communication Technology for Health” program at the University of Naples "Federico II". She earned her degree in Biomedical Engineering from the same university in 2023. Her PhD research focuses on the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCI), particularly the motor imagery paradigm, for neurorehabilitation in elderly patients.

Antonio Esposito is a Research Fellow at the University of Naples Federico II. He received his M.S. degree in electronic engineering at the University of Naples Federico II in 2017 and the PhD in Metrology at Polytechnic of Turin in 2022. His research activities involve instrumentation and measurement for daily-life brain-computer interfaces. Antonio was also designated “Distinguished Lecturer 2023-2025” for the Instrumentation and Measurement society of IEEE on the topic “Applied metrology for novel human-computer interactions”.

Mario Ortiz is a senior member of the Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab and Associate Professor of the Mechanical Engineering and Energy department at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Spain). He holds a M.Sc In industrial Engineering and a PhD. from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (2016). He was visiting professor at the University of Houston (USA) in 2019. His current research interests are Signal Processing, Brain-Machine Interfaces, Neurorobotics and Rehabilitation Robotics. Over the last years, his research has been funded by prestigious grants from the European Union, other international government agencies, and Spain. He has participated in 26 research projects, with multiple publications (over 30 JCR research papers and 70 conferences).

Jose M. Azorin is the Director of the Brain-Machine Interface Systems Lab and Full Professor of the Systems Engineering and Automation Department at Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Spain). In addition, he is the Director of the International Affiliate BRAIN (Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology) Site at UMH, which is the only site of the BRAIN center in Europe (industry-university collaborative research center funded by National Science Foundation from USA). He holds a M.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Alicante (1997, Spain) and a Ph.D. from Miguel Hernández University of Elche (Award for the Best Thesis of the Department) (2003, Spain). He has been a visiting professor at the University of Houston (USA) and at Imperial College London (United Kingdom). His current research interests are Brain-Machine Interfaces, Neurorobotics and Rehabilitation Robotics. Over the last years, his research has been funded by prestigious grants from the European Union, other international government agencies, and Spain. He has been the PI of more than 20 research projects, and his research has resulted in more than 200 technical papers and 3 patents. Currently, he is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Systems Council.