Member Article

Technology company prototypes new wearable tech platform that could revolutionise healthcare

A neuroscience technology company has paired with London research design experts Ctrl Group Ltd to unveil a wearable tech platform that could revolutionise healthcare and medical trials.

Cambridge Cognition Holdings and Ctrl Group’s joint-venture, The Cognition Kit, is a software platform designed for wearable tech, such as smart watches like Fitbit, that aims to assist doctors, scientists and individuals manage their cognitive wellbeing.

Cognition Kit gathers a raft of physical and neurological health data from a user, and also learns how each individual’s mood and cognitive performance varies throughout the day along with the factors that contribute to their wellness.

The firms claim that such a detailed and holistic approach to health monitoring could bring about a revolution in medical testing and healthcare as it provides a more rounded and comprehensive view of a patient or individual’s overall health.

The pair will present the first prototype of the new platform at the Neurotech Investing and Partnering Conference in Boston, US this week (7 April).

Ben Fehnert, Co-founder, Ctrl Group: “At Ctrl Group we believe that new technologies have the power to transform healthcare and research. Understanding and designing products for everyday lives are at the heart of our work and, through Cognition Kit, we will create mobile and wearable software tools to capture a much richer and realistic picture of an individual’s cognitive health.

“Intuitive and non-intrusive software can then sensitively measure and understand precise cognitive processes in real life”.

Dr Jenny Barnett, Director of Healthcare Innovation, Cambridge Cognition, added: “For patients with a wide range of brain health conditions, mood and cognitive performance can be an early indicator of change in their condition or response to treatment.

“Cognition Kit will make it easy for patients and doctors to understand how daily changes in factors like stress, sleep, and exercise affect how we feel and how well we are able to concentrate, remember and make good decisions so that we can take action earlier and better manage our own health and wellbeing.”

Wearable tech is currently undergoing massive growth, with the likes of the Apple Watch and US brand Fitbit driving uptake in an industry whose worth is predicted to surpass $40bn (approx £28bn) by 2020.