INTERSTRESS Newsletter * September 2010 * Issue 1
INTERSTRESS
Interreality in the Management and Treatment of Stress-Related Disorders
Welcome to the INTERSTRESS Newsletter
INTERSTRESS was launched in March 2010 with
the aim of designing, developing, and testing an
advanced ICT-based solution for the assessment
and treatment of psychological stress. The kick-off
meeting for the project was 19 March 2010 at
Istituto Auxologico Italiano in Milan, Italy.
The project will use a new eHealth concept known
as Interreality, which the creators define as a
hybrid, closed-loop, empowering experience
bridging both physical and virtual worlds into one
seamless reality. In other words, behaviour in the
physical world will influence the virtual world
experience, and behaviour in the virtual world will
influence the real-world experience.
Clinical use of interreality is based on a closed-loop
concept that involves the use of technology for
assessing, adjusting, and/or moderating the
emotional regulation of the individual. This is
achieved by increasing the individual’s coping skills
and appraisal of the environment based upon a
comparison of the individual’s behavioural and
physiologic al response to training or performance
criterion. The project will provide a proof of concept
of the proposed system with clinical validation. The
INTERSTRESS project will run for 36 months.
Partner Profile
CREATE-NET
CREATE-NET (Center for Research And
Telecommunication Experimentation for
NETworked communities) is a non-profit
international organization with core competences in
advanced communication technologies, with
special emphasis in broadband, pervasive,
wireless, networked multimedia, smart
environments and security technologies. CREATE-
NET manages top-level collaboration and strategic
alliances for integrating global key partners in
research and development actions.
STARLAB
Starlab neuroscientist Alejandro Riera, responsible
for the project in the company, explains that the
main role of Starlab in INTERSTRESS is to
research the potential use of EEG to detect stress.
"Stress will be induced in a set of participants while
their EEG are being recorded. By analysing the
EEG data, we will look for features that vary with
the level of stress. Once these features are
identified, we plan to use this system to monitor the
stress level of the patients using the overall
INTERSTRESS stress management platform."
Starlab will also implement a neurofeedback
application in which patients will learn how to
modulate their EEG in order to deal with stress. "In
other words, the stress marker of the EEG will be
measured in real time and a virtual scenario in
which the subject is immersed will change as the
EEG stress markers change", Riera says.
"As an example we can think of a virtual scenario in
which the weather changes with the level of stress
detected with the EEG: the calmer we are, the
better weather we have but if the participant is
stressed, the weather will change and rain, thunder
and lighting strikes will appear."
Enobio, the portable wireless brain monitoring
system developed by Starlab, will be used for the
project. Since the sensor is wireless and wearable,
it is a very suitable device to be integrated within
the INTERSTRESS solution.
Partner News
World of Health IT/eHealth
INTERSTRESS partner VRMI introduced the
project during the first joint eHealth conference of
the European Commission and HIMSS Europe –
The World of Health IT/eHealth Conference &
Exhibition.
Between March 15 and 18, eHealth stakeholders
gathered in Barcelona, Spain, to take advantage of
this unique collaboration between the EC and
HIMSS Europe, and join the large networking and
discussion platform being offered.
Over 60 leading vendors were present to showcase
their digital solutions for health and conduct live
demonstrations. The exhibition also featured
Industry Solution Presentations showcasing
innovative technology, as well as an Interoperability
Showcase and Partner Pavilion, showcasing
WoHIT 2010 partners’ efforts, programmes and
communities.
Med-e-Tel
On April 14 to 16, over 250 participants from over
50 countries gathered in Luxembourg to explore
global telemedicine and eHealth initiatives, at the
annual Med-e-Tel networking event. Among the
attendees were INTERSTRESS partners VRMI and
IAI, there not only to follow up on the latest
developments and initiatives in Telemedicine and
eHealth, but also to introduce and disseminate
information about the INTERSTRESS project.
In addition, the partners provided insights into
effective and efficient simulation and virtual reality
technology for treatment, along with the therapeutic
benefits of using simulations in the areas of
prevention, training, education, therapy, and
rehabilitation.
Luxembourg Minister of Health Mars Di
Bartolomeo, together with Yunkap Kwankam,
Executive Director of the ISfTeH, opened this
year’s Med-e-Tel event, and welcomed the
exchange of ideas and experiences related to ICT
applications in healthcare.
CT15
13-15 June, 2010 – Seoul, Korea
CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy 15 (CT 15)
– Imaging the Future
In June 2010, INTERSTRESS partners Virtual
Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) and Istituto
Auxologico Italiano (IAI) presented the
INTERSTRESS project during the 15th Annual
CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference
(CT15). This is the official conference of the
International Association of CyberPsychology,
Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR), and it attracts
clinicians and researchers from around the world
who are using innovative technologies to provide
more effective applications for the diagnosis,
assessment, and treatment of mental and physical
disorders. The conference featured presentations
by researchers employing interactive technologies
for training, mental health, disabilities, and
rehabilitation.
On the 14th of June, 2010, a special “show-and-
tell” event called the “Cyberarium” was held. It
featured demonstrations on how virtual reality (VR)
and other advanced technology products are being
applied for therapy, training and rehabilitation.
The quality and significance of the work presented
at CT15 reaffirms that VR is already playing a
significant role in health care. CT15 explored
technologies as enabling tools, which included the
use of advanced technologies such as VR
simulations, videogames, telehealth, video-
conferencing, the internet, robotics, brain computer
interfaces, wearable computing, non-invasive
physiological monitoring devices, in diagnosis,
assessment, and prevention of mental and physical
disorders.
In addition, CT15 explored the impact of new
technologies such as Twitter and Facebook on
behaviour and society, through means such as
cyberadvertising, cyberfashion, and cyberstalking.
Prof. Brenda K. Wiederhold of INTERSTRESS’s
partner VRMI, served as CT15 Conference Chair,
and Prof. Giuseppe Riva of IAI served as Scientific
Chair.
European Forum for Innovation
CREATE-NET – along with the European Alliance
for Innovation (EAI) and the Autonomous Province
of Trento – organized and co-sponsored a
European Forum for Innovation in Trento, Italy, on
June 23-25. European Union officials, major
industry representatives and EAI partners were
present to discuss ways of accelerating technology
development and innovation in the European
Community. It proved the perfect opportunity to
present the INTERSTRESS project, as the forum
stimulated discussions on implementing strategies
to involve the citizens of Europe in bringing about
change and ICT-enabled innovation, which will
impact all areas of society, including health.
La Notte dei Ricercatori
On September 24, 2010, INTERSTRESS partners
from CREATE-NET participated in “Researcher’s
Night”, or “La Notte dei Ricercatori”, in Trento, Italy.
The event, a wonderful opportunity aimed at
bringing the public closer to the world of science
through experiments, demonstrations, open
laboratories and guided tours, proved the perfect
occasion to publicize the INTERSTRESS project.
CREATE-NET disseminated information about our
project through the distribution of flyers, and a
presentation stand about INTERSTRESS at the
event.
UBI-Comp
Copenhagen, Denmark, was where the 5th
International Workshop on Ubiquitous Health and
Wellness took place this year, on September 26th,
2010. The Workshop, as part of the12th ACM
International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing,
was supported by MONARCA and INTERSTRESS.
This year the workshop expanded its focus from
somatic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart
failure, and obesity, to research encompassing
ubiquitous computing for mental disorders and
maintenance of mental health. The main objective
of the workshop was to strengthen cooperation
within the growing community in pervasive
healthcare research, while exchanging ideas and
forming new collaborations.
ICT 2010
Image: N. Kroes, Prince Philippe and Minister
Cerexhe, cutting the ribbon to open the exhibit
INTERSTRESS partner Virtual Reality Medical
Institute (VRMI), Brussels, Belgium, attended the
three-day event ICT 2010-Digitally Driven, from
September 27-29 at the Brussels Expo. The event
brought together 6000 participants from all over
Europe, and housed more than 100
groundbreaking information and communication
technology (ICT) research projects funded by the
European Commission.
The major themes at the conference were digital
solution for sustainable growth in a low carbon
economy and the role of ICT in the life of citizens,
as well as public participation and support.
Attention was called to a new strategy, the EU
2020, as a concrete way to leave the global crisis
behind and turn the European Union into a “smart,
sustainable and inclusive economy”, which will
deliver productivity, social cohesion and
employment. These challenges require a common
and coordinated response.
Alongside this were calls for raising ICT research
and innovation to help increase quality of life and
overcome social challenges, as well as improve
healthcare. Christian Reinaud, CEO of Agfa-
Gevaert NV, Belgium, said that ICT is a key tool to
improving the efficiency of healthcare systems in
Europe.
European Association for Behavioral & Cognitive
Therapies
IAI partners attended the European Association for
Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies Conference in
Milano, on 7-10 October. The event aimed to
create networks and strengthen rapports between
associations, disciplines, countries, innovations,
experts, professionals and students. It further
sought to bridge the worlds of clinical practice and
theory, classical expression and innovative
developments, as well as intervention and
prevention. Keeping in line with innovative
psychological treatments, the INTERSTRESS
project was brought to attention.
ISDA 2010
On November 29 through December 1st,
INTERSTRESS partner Università di Pisa (UDP)
will attend the 10th International Conference on
Intelligent Systems Design and Applications, where
Alessandro Tognetti of UDP will co-chair a special
session on “Advances in Robotics and Virtual
Reality”. The session will aim to stimulate and
exchange research ideas that will contribute to the
collective advancement of robotic and virtual reality
systems.
The INTERSTRESS project will be introduced
during the session by way of a collaborative paper
between INTERSTRESS partners CNR, UDP and
IAI, entitled “Interreality: the Use of Advanced
Technologies in the Assessment and Treatment of
Psychological Stress". The joint efforts of our
partners are allowing INTERSTRESS to reach the
versatile audience of researchers, engineers,
stakeholders, experts and other professionals that
will be present in Cairo, Egypt, during this
Conference.
INTERSTRESS members have participated and introduced the
project at the following conferences and workshops:
• World of Health IT/eHealth, March 2010, Barcelona,
Spain
• Med-e-Tel, April 2010, Luxembourg, G.D. of
Luxembourg
• Association for Applied Psychophysiology &
Biofeedback, April 2010, San Diego, California, U.S.A.
• World Health Care Congress, May 2010, Brussels,
Belgium
• pHealth, May 2010, Berlin, Germany
• CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference, June
2010, Seoul, Korea
• European Forum for Innovation, June 2010, Trento,
Italy
• American Psychological Association, August 2010,
San Diego, California, U.S.A.
• Measuring Behavior 2010, August 2010, Eindhoven,
The Netherlands
• ICT 2010, September 2010, Brussels, Belgium
• UBICOMP 2010, 26-29 September 2010, Copenhagen
DK
• European Association for Behavioral & Cognitive
Therapies, October 2010, Milan, Italy
Upcoming opportunities include:
• Global TeleHealth 2010, November 2010, Perth,
Western Australia
• Health Info 2011, International Conference on Health
Informatics, 26-29 January 2011, Rome IT
• Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (MMVR), February
2011, Newport Beach, California, U.S.A.