ACTA: A Mobile-Health Solution for Integrated Nudge-Neurofeedback Training for Senior Citizens

As the worldwide population gets increasingly aged, in-home tele-medicine and mobile-health solutions represent promising services to promote active and independent aging and to contribute to a paradigm shift towards a patient-centric healthcare. In this work, we present ACTA (Advanced Cognitive Training for Aging), a prototypal mobile-health solution to provide advanced cognitive training for senior citizens with mild cognitive impairments, We disclose here the conceptualization of ACTA as the integration of two promising rehabilitation strategies: the "Nudge theory", from the cognitive domain, and the neurofeedback, from the neuroscience domain. Moreover, in ACTA we exploit the most advanced machine learning techniques to deliver customized and fully adaptive support to the elderly, while training in an ecological environment. ACTA represents the next-step beyond SENIOR, an earlier mobile-health project for cognitive training based on Nudge theory, currently ongoing in Lombardy Region. Beyond SENIOR, ACTA represents a highly-usable, accessible, low-cost, new-generation mobile-health solution to promote independent aging and effective motor-cognitive training support, while empowering the elderly in their own aging. As the worldwide population gets increasingly aged, tele-medicine and mobile-health solutions are becoming key services to promote active and independent aging, and to contribute to a paradigm shift towards a patient-centric healthcare. In many countries, especially Italy, Portugal in Europe, and Japan in Asia, average population age is rapidly increasing and projections indicate 79% of it will be over 60 by 2050, according to the 2017 report of the United Nations [1]. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is rapidly becoming one of the most common clinical manifestations affecting the elderly. It is characterized by deterioration of memory, attention, and cognitive function that is beyond what is expected based on age and educational level. MCI does not interfere significantly with individuals' daily activities. It can act as a transitional level towards dementia with a range of conversion of 10%-15% per year.