Next-gen equipment to be loaned free of charge to the Montecatone Institute in Imola to aid patient recovery programs. President Paolo Mongardi: “It’s with pride that we continue to support this national center of excellence in the field of intensive rehabilitation. This donation confirms our commitment to working alongside the community in order to improve the quality of local healthcare.”
For the 2025 festive season, SACMI has decided to donate three latest-generation motorized bicycle ergometers to the Montecatone Foundation. These will be a valuable aid in the patient rehabilitation programs provided by Montecatone Hospital, a nationally renowned post-trauma rehabilitation facility.
The equipment completes the structural renovation of the gym facilities in the individual Spinal Unit departments and, consequently, improves what is one of the most effective treatments available to patients with spinal or brain injuries: simulation of the pedaling action on a normal bicycle to ‘passively’ exercise legs and arms while monitoring the effort applied and the progress achieved by way of electromagnetic graduation.
Highly effective in helping patients regain and maintain their motor abilities, this model of bicycle ergometer (Medimec TIGO) can be adapted to individual requirements via ergonomic adjustments that optimize posture and needs-based personalized parameter settings. The machines also give users access to ‘bio-feedback’ and interactive games: these provide support for specific motor ‘relearning’ processes and motivate patients to keep on training.
For SACMI, this initiative aligns with its ongoing support for hospitals, associations and local organizations that provide personal healthcare and assistance. More specifically, it’s in keeping with the company’s long-term support for the Montecatone Institute, “a national center of excellence in the field of intensive rehabilitation,” emphasizes SACMI's President, Paolo Mongardi. “This donation demonstrates our solid commitment to raise the quality of local healthcare and assistance services.”
The Montecatone Foundation was established in 1998 to aid the Montecatone Institute, Italy’s largest spinal unit. Since 2025 it has been part of the Sole National Third Sector Register (Registro Unico nazionale del Terzo Settore) under the name ‘Fondazione Montecatone ETS’. The aim of the Foundation - which will provide the hospital with the equipment on a charge-free loan basis - is to aid the Institute's technological renewal process; to do so, it introduces latest-generation equipment, making rehab programs more effective and broadening the range of personalized treatments in order to deliver the highest possible levels of patient autonomy.
“At Montecatone, we take a multi-disciplinary approach to rehabilitation that goes beyond the strictly clinical,” explains Mario Tubertini, Special Commissioner of the Montecatone Institute. “Following the illness or trauma that led to their being admitted to our Institute, many people will have to live with a disability, perhaps for the rest of their lives. It is therefore essential that they receive appropriate care to regain as much autonomy as possible and go on to live a dignified, independent life that fully includes them in all aspects of society”.
“This donation,” adds Marco Gasparri, President of the Montecatone Foundation, “shows we’re committed not only to supporting the Institute, but also to weaving synergies with the area’s economic and industrial fabric. Montecatone Hospital is a national and international center of healthcare excellence and as such acts as a worldwide ‘Imola ambassador’. I’m extremely pleased with SACMI's ongoing support and hope it will help us further improve the quality of our rehabilitation programs and their outcomes.”