Despoina Petsani

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

About Presenter

Despoina Petsani is a researcher and innovation leader at the intersection of digital health, assistive technologies, and Living Labs. With a background in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an MSc in Medical Informatics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, she is focusing on digital tools and machine learning for transitional care.

She is a Research Associate in the Assistive Technologies and Silver Science Research Group at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Xeeti, driving strategic direction and technological innovation. Since 2017, she has led and contributed to numerous EU-funded projects, including VITALISE (H2020), where she coordinated Living Lab harmonization and transitional care research across Greece, Spain, and Canada and the EVOLVE2CARE Horizon Europe project where she is Mission Coordinator.

Actively engaged in the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), she co-chairs the Living Lab Harmonization Working Group and the Health & Wellbeing Working Group. She was a member of the Organizing Committee of the Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium in 2024 and 2025.

Title of presentation
Leveraging the Power of Living Labs for Innovation in Transitional Care
Focus Areas

StartUp & ScaleUp Zone: Where Life Science Ventures Take Off

Objective: Pitch, partner and grow – connect with investors, corporates and mentors to accelerate your journey.

Introduction: the Problem

In a dynamically evolving healthcare landscape, the need for innovative and effective solutions is more pressing than ever. Transitional care services are a strategic priority for delivering better care, improving health outcomes, and reducing costs.

This talk aims to highlight the role of Living Labs as catalysts for innovation in digital health. Within the Living Lab environment, users and stakeholders actively participate and lead the innovation process, providing a unique framework for the development and validation of new user-centered solutions.

The presentation will showcase results from the Horizon Europe project EVOLVE2CARE, which aims to strengthen collaboration between Living Labs and innovation actors in the field of transitional care, providing access to testing and validation services for research outcomes and products.

Collaboration Offer

The startups, SMEs and companies will get to know what Living Labs can offer to help them reach the market faster and scale up their innovation. It is important also to get to know what are the companies needs in terms of user testing, experimentation and validation.