Dept. of Psychology, University of Cambridge

Harkwood Services was commissioned by the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge to develop a specialised wearable monitoring device for infant research studies, a technology capable of long-term physiological monitoring in very young participants.

The Challenge

We aimed to create a miniaturised, infant-safe wearable device that is capable of continuous, multi-parameter monitoring over extended periods. The solution needed to balance comprehensive data collection with the practical constraints of working with infants as young as 2 months, requiring exceptional reliability and ease of use for researchers.

Our Solution

We developed a compact, purpose-built monitoring system featuring:

Comprehensive Physiological Monitoring

• Real-time ECG capture for cardiovascular analysis
• Actigraph sensors for movement and activity tracking
• Tilt sensors for posture and orientation monitoring
• Local MicroSD storage for reliable data retention

Infant-Optimized Design

• Miniaturized custom hardware package suitable for 2 month-old infants
• Extended 10+ hour battery life enabling full-day studies
• Simple, intuitive operation minimizing researcher training requirements
• Robust design ensuring reliable performance in research environments

 Research-Grade Performance

• Continuous multi-parameter data logging over many hours
• Precise data synchronization across all sensor inputs
• Reliable local storage ensuring no data loss during extended studies

Our Role

Complete Custom Development We provided a full electronics design and embedded firmware development, creating a turnkey solution that spans from initial requirements to deployment-ready devices optimised for infant research applications.