Sharktooth
Sharktooth is a telemetry-based monitoring system designed to track physiological parameters in individuals exposed to extreme environments, including sub-zero cold chambers, tropical heat, hypobaric altitude chambers, and shallow underwater diving operations. The system is used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for diver physiological monitoring in both operational and research settings.
Brief
Researchers and defence operators needed real-time visibility of physiological safety parameters - temperature, ECG, heart rate - across multiple subjects simultaneously in harsh or enclosed environments where wired sensor connections are impractical. This supported testing of survival equipment and clothing effectiveness, as well as monitoring personnel physiological responses during training exercises.
Approach
Sharktooth can monitor up to 12 subjects simultaneously, providing real-time data and trends on core body temperature, skin temperature of extremities, ECG waveforms, and heart rate.
The display can be configured for triple-head screens, allowing all 12 subjects to be viewed clearly at once, while also supporting single-screen operation for portable use. Operators can configure what is displayed on each screen to suit their specific experiment or monitoring requirements.
A patented Bluetooth-based, multi-channel, multi-transmitter architecture made this level of simultaneous monitoring practical for the first time. The transmitters provide up to 8 hours of continuous operation. A waterproof variant extends monitoring to divers underwater to depths of up to 2 metres in test tanks, using an umbilical antenna linked to the surface.
A USB-powered receiver allows the system to operate from a laptop without mains power, making it equally suited to field deployment and chamber environments.
User-defined alarm thresholds enable operators to identify and respond immediately to safety-critical conditions. All data is streamed live and recorded for later playback, further analysis, or export. Operators can also flag events of interest during a session for immediate review without waiting for the recording to end.
My Role
Tech Lead (MIE Medical)- Architecture Design: Defined system architecture, data structures, and technology choices for the multi-channel telemetry acquisition.
- Communication Protocol: Designed a robust and efficient packet protocol managing simultaneous data streams from up to 12 transmitter units.
- Software Engineering: Led development of the C#/.NET monitoring application, including specification and firmware management.
- Testing: Conducted functional, safety-critical, and environmental testing across chamber and field deployment scenarios to meet MoD requirements.
Technology Stack
Gallery
Notable Highlights
- Versatile - the system can be split in two; each receiver monitors up to 6 subjects independently, or combined for up to 12 subjects in the same space
- Research mode - optionally displays up to 3 user-defined calculated temperature values based on custom equations (e.g. left-side average, minimum extremity, maximum vital)
- User-definable safety alarms for temperature and heart rate
- Patented multi-channel Bluetooth architecture
Physiological Parameters
Temperature
- 1x Core (°C, ±0.1°C accuracy)
- 2x Auditory - left & right (°C, ±0.1°C)
- 4x Surface / environmental (°C, ±0.1°C)
Cardiac
- Passive ECG - continuous waveform trace
- Heart rate (bpm)
