REHACT-EU TELEREHABILITATION THROUGH RESPIRATORY EXERCISE AND MOTOR REACTIVATION OF POST-ACUTE COVID-19 PATIENTS BASED ON INNOVATION OF HEALTHCARE SERVICE CO-PRODUCTION

1. Technoscience San Raffaele
REHACT-EU Telerehabilitation
through respiratory exercise and
motor reactivation of post-acute
COVID-19 patients based on
innovation of healthcare service
co-production

2. Il gruppo di lavoro
Prof. Antonio Pallotti
Technoscience
University of Rome ‘’San Raffaele’’
Leandro Lucangeli
PhD student
Technoscience
University of Rome “Foro Italico”
Emanuele D’Angelantonio
PhD student
Technoscience
University of Rome “Foro Italico”
Prof. Valentina Camomilla
IuC-BoHNeS
University of Rome “Foro Italico”
Federico Caramia
PhD student
University of Rome “Foro Italico”
Technoscience

3. Descrizione
The impairment of diffusion capacity and the restrictive ventilatory defects affect more than
half post-acute COVID-19 patients,both being associated with the severity of the
disease.Following discharge,and during the long-term recovery,patients with physical and
respiratory deficits may benefit from pulmonary rehabilitative interventions,which include a
combination of graded exercise,activity of daily living,and psychosocial support.Projections
suggest a major surge in post-acute care demand,which requires the reorganization of
patients’ services to prepare for the post-acute phase,especially for severely affected
patients.Scientific community analyzed the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the
rehabilitation services and the role of respiratory rehabilitation in the COVID-19
crisis:documents provide guidelines for rehabilitation in the current setting and claim the
potential benefit of using remote alternative options of care(remote
consultation,telerehabilitation),helping to prevent the spread of the disease by eliminating
in-person contact and avoid pandemic related constraints.

4. Obiettivi e destinatari del lavoro
The project aims at innovating a telemedicine service(prototypical and susceptible to
implementation)based on the health services co-production to support the reorganization
of the care process of the person with outcomes of COVID-19 in remission and to provide
rehabilitation services.Performing part of the rehabilitation process at home is essential to
overcome the pandemic in safe conditions;it is equally essential that this remote activity is
carried out in an environment controlled by healthcare professionals.It is intended to
develop a telerehabilitation care path which quantitatively monitors the rehabilitation
remotely,using wearable technology integrated on an accessible web platform for
teleconsultation,providing adequate reporting of the quantity and quality of the activities
carried out,which,in concert with the envisaged clinical assessments can guide the
personalization of the rehabilitation path.The project aims at creating a telerehabilitation
service,currently not available,to address the rehabilitation needs of COVID-19 in the post-
acute phase.

5. Risultati
The proposed quantitative parameters,their acquisition,storage and transmission through a
user-friendly platform,a normative database of healthy adults and the instrumented
remote rehabilitation protocol constitute a valid set-up that can subsequently be clinically
validated as a support to telerehabilitation,easy to use for the clinician and intuitive for the
patient.The proposed rehabilitation service also responds to the need to optimize the
management of a service to be offered to numerous patients,taking advantage of their self-
management.It also widens the possibility of access to a greater number of patients who
can benefit from it and has the potential to improve prolonged adherence to exercise.

6. Prof. Dr. Ing. Antonio Pallotti
antonio.pallotti@technoscience.it
antonio.pallotti@uniroma5.it
Ricercatore e Supervisore dei Ricercatori – Technoscience
Professore di Infomatica Medica e di Data Managament & IoHT –
Università San Raffaele Roma