VIBRA-Kids: Wearable VIBRation and Audio interface to boost motor and cognitive impairment in children with cerebral palsy

Descrizione del progetto

Stimolare lo sviluppo sensomotorio nei bambini con paralisi cerebrale

Il gioco è il lavoro dell’infanzia, ma è anche il lavoro dello sviluppo cerebrale. Ogni movimento è fondamentale per lo sviluppo delle capacità sensoriali e motorie necessarie per il pensiero di livello superiore e l’interazione sociale. Nel caso dei bambini con paralisi cerebrale, però, questo processo viene interrotto, il che limita lo sviluppo durante un periodo critico della plasticità cerebrale. Alla luce di ciò, il progetto VIBRA-Kids, finanziato dal CER, sta sviluppando uno speciale dispositivo indossabile per colmare le lacune sensoriali e motorie. Il dispositivo ripristina il legame tra il movimento e i sensi, offrendo uno stimolo multisensoriale non invasivo che integra la terapia a casa. Sostenendo lo sviluppo motorio e cognitivo, il progetto punta a fornire ai bambini le basi per una maggiore indipendenza e un futuro più luminoso.

Obiettivo

Movements are essential for early development, allowing infants to link proprioceptive feedback with tactile, auditory, and visual inputs. This early multisensory association builds body awareness, spatial cognition, and social interaction. In cerebral palsy (CP), the most common congenital motor disability, affecting 2 to 3 children per 1,000 live births worldwide, this process is disrupted from birth. Without sufficient motor experience, children with CP lack the foundations for multisensory body maps, leading to cascading deficits in cognition, autonomy, and participation. Current rehabilitation strategies target motor or cognitive functions separately and are poorly suited to infants, leaving a critical gap during the period of maximal brain plasticity. VIBRA-Kids addresses this gap as the first science-based wearable device designed to restore the sensory-motor-body link in early life. It combines two non-invasive stimulations: focal muscle vibration, activating proprioception and inducing illusory movements, and sonification, converting motion parameters into sounds. Their integration uniquely engages multisensory networks, supporting motor and cognitive development. The system consists of a wristband delivering vibration to the weaker limb, paired with infant-safe headphones for sonification. Its ecological design enables home and daily use, and it can complement existing therapies. The project capitalizes on the ERC StG MyFirstBody, which has already demonstrated that congenital motor deprivation impairs the development of body and space representations, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions. VIBRA-Kids will be developed and validated stepwise, from healthy adults to children with CP, with behavioural, clinical, and neural outcomes. If successful, it will deliver a child-friendly, ecological, and scalable technology to rebuild the foundational sensory-motor-body link, improving lifelong outcomes and paving the way for commercialization.