The aim of the SELF project is to improve the quality of life (QoL) of older adults by assisting them with an innovative ICT-based SELF system (made by a comfortable smart t-shirt, dry polimer sensors, data management platform, a mobile APP and advanced communications devices) that allows the accurate monitoring of vital signs and of functional capacity providing in real time reliable information about the health status of the elderly using the system. The t-shirts have advanced sensors embedded and are capable to dynamically monitor ECG and respiratory frequency, in relation to users’ life context and real activity. This system is connected to a central unit which directly transmit data to an APP which provides an alarm signal if some standards are overcome: in this way, the smart t-shirt could be the enabling factor for the implementation of a service of “Health surveillance and monitoring”. 

The application of the SELF system is expected to favor the development of active lifestyles by improving the SELF-efficacy and perceived autonomy of older adults, while serving as a monitoring and measurement tool to acquire information on mobility and health status. The solution also differentiates from conventional wearables due to the capacity of higher integration into elderly’s daily routines. It favors wearing compliance without requiring a change of behavior. Moreover, it minimizes the risk of stigmatization due to the unobtrusiveness of the embedded solution and thus the overall technology acceptance. This project intends to insert a trend of innovation, of international relevance, in contextualizing the new proposed technology with respect to a new logic of health monitoring, less invasive, reliable and consistent with the instances of “active life” of subjects who have the need or aspiration of continuous monitoring. The methodological endeavor of test therefore intends to operationally validate and scale-up in 4 different European countries the importance of the proposed ICT-based solution. 

The service related to the use of the t-shirt will be developed in collaboration with the end-users, following a well-designed co-creation approach, in order to tailor the t-shirt on the basis of individual needs. The SELF system will respond at market and commercial level to the needs of two specific target consumer typologies: baby boomers and alert stage.

• • • Lets – Webearable Solutions srl (Coordinator)
    • University of Rome “Foro Italico”
    • Cooperativa sociale HelpDonna
    • Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences – Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center
    • Hospital Costa del Sol- Biomedical Research Institute of Malaga (IBIMA_FIMABIS)
    • Norwegian University of Science and Technology