The Rise of Thess-AHALL: From Ageing to Holistic Wellbeing
The Thessaloniki Action for Health & Wellbeing Living Lab (Thess-AHALL) was founded in 2014 by the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at the School of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH). Initially known as the Thessaloniki Active & Healthy Ageing Living Lab, Thess-AHALL was Greece’s first Living Lab and a pioneering force in Europe, setting the stage for citizen-led innovation in health and wellbeing.
In its early days, Thess-AHALL focused on Active and Healthy Ageing, using participatory methodologies to improve the lives of older adults, chronic patients, and vulnerable populations. Its approach was simple yet powerful: involve people not just as end-users but as co-designers of the solutions meant to serve them. Through collaborative research and citizen science, the Living Lab began shaping technologies that addressed physical, mental, and social health challenges, while also empowering healthcare professionals and caregivers.
Living Environment Simulation (eHome)
From the beginning, Thess-AHALL focused on Active & Healthy Ageing (AHA), applying co-creation and participatory design to develop tools that truly reflect what older adults want and need. But the lab didn’t stop there.
Since 2022, Thess-AHALL has been relaunched with even greater ambition, expanding its activities beyond ageing to include oncology, environmental resilience, agri-food systems, urban health, culture, and communication. This evolution transformed Thess-AHALL from a thematic initiative focused on ageing into a dynamic coalition that connects researchers, local authorities, civil society, and industry.
Projects like LifeChamps brought artificial intelligence and data analytics into cancer care, improving quality of life for older cancer patients. It directly inspired the Cancer Living Labs initiative, which later evolved into PECan, ONCODIR and COMFORT, each exploring new frontiers in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and personalized treatment through AI, digital health, and real-world Living Lab testing.
This model is now influencing a broader European policy. As the co-lead of the Harmonization Working Group and the head of the Health & Wellbeing Working Group of ENoLL (the European Network of Living Labs) , Thess-AHALL helps Living Labs across Europe define common standards while preserving their local uniqueness.
Today, Thess-AHALL is more than a lab. It’s a mindset. It brings together citizens, researchers, and decision-makers to co-design real solutions in real environments. The City of Thessaloniki itself has become a living laboratory, where new ideas are tested not behind closed doors but in the neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and public spaces of the city.
Thess-AHALL continues to redefine what it means to do research with and for society. And the journey is just beginning!
The Lab produces high-impact scientific publications, contributes to international research collaborations, and generates valuable evidence from its extensive clinical datasets, which include cognitive, motor, and brain function assessments. This evidence informs both the academic community and clinical practice, advancing the understanding of cognitive decline and supporting strategies that promote overall health and quality of life. Since 2020, Thess-AHALL has also actively participated in the European Commission’s City Science Initiative alongside the Municipality of Thessaloniki (Lead City on “Mental Health & Well-Being”), coordinating social innovation actions that explore how science, technology, and research can support cities in addressing contemporary mental health and well-being challenges. This citizen-driven and evidence-based approach strengthens the role of research in public policy and ensures inclusive, future-ready innovation in health and care.
Pilot 13 Empowerment Through Digital and Health Literacy
At Thess-AHALL, the Living Lab for Health and Wellbeing at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), innovation is deeply rooted in collaboration. Pilot 13 builds on this tradition, asking a powerful question: How can older adults be empowered to confidently manage their health and use digital tools?
The pilot draws from past successful projects like DISCOVER, ERMAT, and mHealth-AD, which used hands-on learning and co-creation to close the digital divide. Now, Pilot 13 takes it a step further, combining workshops, real-life practice, and personalized mentoring to support older adults, not just in learning technology, but in feeling more capable, connected, and in control of their health.
What’s the Goal?
Pilot 13 is designed to improve both digital and health literacy among older adults. By using a person-centered, participatory approach, the program ensures that the tools and educational content developed are not only useful but truly meaningful and sustainable. Continuous feedback from participants helps shape every step of the process.
AUTh also plays a central role in the development of two important “products” of COMFORTage: The Training and Education Toolkit (TET) and the Training and Education Marketplave (TEM) digital platforms. They are open-access, digital learning solution designed to support older adults, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in addressing the challenges of ageing, frailty, and dementia, reducing digital exclusion and supporting more informed, connected, and resilient ageing communities.
Who Can Participate?
Participants are selected through an open call within the “Collaboration and Research Community for Independent Living”, a network of more than 100 active members, including older adults (60+), informal caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
Pilot 13 will include 40 participants aged 60 years ( (Healthy, MCI, mild Dementia, Frail), or older who score above 24 on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), indicating adequate cognitive function for participation. In addition, other stakeholders will be involved in an advisory and co-creation capacity. These include healthcare professionals with prior experience in caring for older adults, as well as informal caregivers or relatives aged 18 or older who have similar caregiving experience.
A Four-Phase, Person-Centered Approach
The study unfolds across four key phases:
- Needs Assessment & Co-Creation: Understanding participants’ challenges and collaboratively designing educational tools.
- Initial Implementation: Launching group sessions and digital activities tailored to participants’ needs.
- Optimization & Digital Guidance: Refining interventions and providing personalized support through digital mentoring.
- Evaluation: Measuring impact to inform future programs and applications.
Pilot 13 will gather a comprehensive set of data to evaluate participants’ needs, progress, and outcomes. The data will include demographic information, cognitive and functional assessments, quality of life and status of health, and digital literacy. Additionally, data on the acceptance and usability of digital tools, including the educational platform and the Healthentia mentoring system, will be collected. Qualitative insights will also be gathered through participant interviews and group discussions to better understand personal experiences and feedback.
Three Types of Interventions
To deliver meaningful outcomes, the pilot combines three interconnected types of interventions:
- Co-Creation and Co-Validation: Participants engage in workshops and focus groups to co-design, revise, and test both the educational content and the COMFORTage training learning platform (TET). Their input directly informs technical specifications and platform features.
- Traditional Education & Experiential Learning: Group sessions blend theory with hands-on activities, followed by independent practice at home using digital tools. Participants later gather for feedback sessions to discuss challenges and exchange experiences.
- Personalized Digital Mentoring: Tailored digital guidance is provided through tools like Healthentia, offering personalized recommendations and tracking progress.
Pilot 13 isn’t just about teaching digital skills. It’s about empowering older adults to manage their health, engage with technology, live more independently and promote inclusion, and lifelong learning in an increasingly digital world.
What will the COMFORTage platform bring to pilots & AUTH
The COMFORTage platform will play a central role in Pilot 13 with the use of a core component, TET and TEM, which will provide a digital environment tailored to the needs of older adults, helping them build both digital and health literacy. It will offer educational content, practical tools supporting older adults as they navigate technology and health-related decisions in their daily lives.
For AUTH, the COMFORTage platform represents an opportunity to expand its mission of participatory innovations in healthcare. It strengthens Thess-AHALL’s role as a Living Lab for Health and Wellbeing by combining research, education, and real-world impact and adds to the vision of iMedPhys by creating useful services and innovations for vulnerable societal groups.
References*
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Konstantinidis, E. I., Billis, A. S., Mouzakidis, C. A., Zilidou, V. I., Antoniou, P. E., & Bamidis, P. D. (2014). Design, implementation, and wide pilot deployment of FitForAll: an easy to use exergaming platform improving physical fitness and life quality of senior citizens. IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics, 20(1), 189-200.
Styliadis, C., Kartsidis, P., Paraskevopoulos, E., Ioannides, A. A., & Bamidis, P. D. (2015). Neuroplastic effects of combined computerized physical and cognitive training in elderly individuals at risk for dementia: an eLORETA controlled study on resting states. Neural plasticity, 2015(1), 172192.
