The VIPPSTAR Consortium meets in Brescia

On 19–20 May, the VIPPSTAR Consortium gathered in Brescia, Italy, for its first in-person meeting, bringing together partners from 11 countries. Over two days, the group reviewed progress, exchanged expertise, and prepared the ground for the next stage of the project.

Laying the groundwork

The meeting opened with a welcome from Professor Elisa Fazzi (University of Brescia), who highlighted VIPPSTAR’s potential to transform care for visually impaired children and adolescents. Partners presented updates on coordination and data management, the creation of the Patient and Public Advisory Group, and the establishment of a Scientific Advisory Board. The presentation of the Consortium Agreement and plans for a Regulatory Sandbox to safely test new AI-based tools in healthcare were also introduced.

Driving innovation

Partners presented initial concepts and prototypes of digital health tools: the telerehabilitation platform (with mapped care pathways and therapy functions), the serious game under redesign with KU Leuven, and early ideas for physical activity tools, an avatar system, and the Food Reader app. Presentations also covered eye-tracking methods for oculomotor assessment and the design of MOOCs to deliver training across Europe. The meeting also saw the introduction of the idea of VIPPSTAR-NET, a planned European clinical surveillance network that will support research and data sharing once developed.

Alongside technical sessions, the consortium heard keynote talks from Lotfi Merabet (Harvard Medical School) on assessing higher-order visual processing in children, and Alberto Tozzi (Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital) on the promises and challenges of AI in paediatric healthcare. Four focus groups worked in parallel to discuss next steps: refining clinical study protocols, strengthening technical infrastructure, advancing co-design with families and service providers, and exploring ethical issues such as informed consent for children.

Looking forward

The meeting closed with strong alignment on future priorities, including refining intervention modules, preparing regulatory pathways, and ensuring accessibility and user-friendliness of all tools.

As Professor Fazzi and Cesare Furlanello (LIGHT) reminded the consortium, the Brescia meeting was not just a milestone but also a springboard reinforcing the project’s collective energy and shared vision for the future of paediatric visual rehabilitation in Europe.