He named his project “Parkinson Detector” in homage to his grandfather Sergio, who indirectly suggested the path he should take. Tommaso Caligari, a seventeen-year-old from Cressa, in the province of Novara, will be honored at the Senate for his project dedicated to the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
A year-long effort led to the creation of the Parkinson Detector, a tool that uses two cameras positioned one in front of the other to study the patient's gait. It analyzes any alterations in the upper limbs, imperceptible to the human eye, focusing in particular on the oscillation angle between the shoulder and the elbow.
An algorithm comes into play to compare the data and issue a “response.” The project was developed in Caligari’s attic lab, as described in an interview with La Stampa, and was later presented at Eucys in Brussels. The use of artificial intelligence is fundamental, as it is able to read movements without the need for markers. Caligari explains in the interview the comparison that artificial intelligence makes between the movements of sick people and those of healthy people.
To perfect the system, the seventeen-year-old collaborated with his father: “We went together to the Parkinson Association of Arona. We asked to be able to do the test on eleven patients, then replicate it on people who were not ill. The algorithm works. The beauty of this system is that it costs little, it only takes a few minutes, it is non-invasive and can help the doctor in the diagnosis”.
Caligari dedicated his project to his grandfather Sergio, a mechanic with many ideas, with whom he spent a lot of time in the garage-workshop. However, Parkinson's disease struck his grandfather, pushing the young man to do something to help those who suffer or begin to suffer from this disease.
Tommaso's dream is to study Electronic Engineering at university, and in the meantime he has already achieved significant successes. He will be awarded by the Senate, and in December the Comoli Ferrari company awarded him one of the annual scholarships reserved for the most deserving students.
At just seventeen years old, Caligari also boasts other inventions, including a mini go-kart made from a stroller, flashlights made from Coca Cola bottle caps, an artificial leaf that converts carbon dioxide into methane, and a project to detect wrong-way drivers on the highway.
The conference entitled 'Parkinson's disease: between diagnosis, therapy and research' will take place next Tuesday, January 23, at 14:XNUMX p.m., in the Sala Caduti di Nassirya of the Senate, at the initiative of the senator and quaestor of Fratelli d'Italia, Gaetano Nastri.
“I really wanted to organize this meeting with a dual objective: to solicit greater attention from the institutions and civil society towards Parkinson's disease and to pay homage to the incredible discovery of Tommaso Caligari, a very young student from Novara who invented, in memory of his grandfather Sergio who suffered from Parkinson's, a scanner that works with artificial intelligence and allows for early diagnosis of the disease.
Tommaso Caligari's 'Parkinson detector' was awarded as best project at the European competition 'Youth and Science 2023' of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and in September it had the opportunity to be presented in Brussels at the 'EUCYS-European Union Contest for Young Scientists' and the possibility of participating in other international competitions and even received an invitation to the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm.
The debate will be attended by the president of the Senate Social Affairs and Health Commission, Senator Francesco Zaffini, Dr. Roberto Tarletti, neurologist at the Ospedale Maggiore della Carità in Novara, Dr. Cinzia Fenini at the Ospedale Maggiore della Carità in Novara, and several national associations dedicated to supporting Parkinson's patients and their loved ones."
Article published on 19 January 2024 - 18:11
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