The brief was bigger than designing a wearable
Newborns who require specialised neonatal care may need to be transferred from one healthcare facility to another. The project explored a way of transporting vulnerable newborns while reducing the risks associated with the journey.
Research looked at transport conditions, healthcare workers, caregivers and the possibility of using Kangaroo Mother Care as part of transport.
Understanding where neonatal transport breaks down
The research compared inborn infants, who are born and treated in the same facility, with outborn infants, who are transferred from one healthcare facility to another. It also mapped reasons for transfer and risks introduced during transportation.
The research identified factors including pre-stabilisation, availability of equipment and monitoring, clinical deterioration, travel duration, transport conditions and caregiver circumstances.
Kangaroo Mother Care changed the direction of the solution
Rather than treating the caregiver as separate from transport equipment, the concept brought the caregiver into the system.
This led to a wearable system that could hold the newborn in a Kangaroo Care position while accommodating the equipment needed around the baby.
Design decision 01: designing the system around three users
The product was never just for the baby. Every design decision had to account for the newborn, caregiver and clinical team.
This framing prevented the design from becoming a simple baby carrier. It had to behave as a small transport system with several people interacting with it.
Design decision 02: use hand prototyping to solve what drawings could not
There were two Product Designers working together. My strongest contribution was hands-on physical prototyping. I used hand-stitched and functional fabric prototypes to test form, fit, access and physical interactions early.
The prototypes let us explore dimensions, straps, openings, closures, padding and tubing management without waiting for a refined product.
Design decision 03: design around the medical equipment, not after it
The newborn could be connected to equipment and tubing, so the wearable had to accommodate those connections without making the caregiver interaction unnecessarily complicated.
The prototype introduced dedicated tubing-holder locations alongside adjustable straps, buckles, loops and a padded flap. The goal was to keep tubing accessible while reducing the chance of tangling or interference.
Design decision 04: hospital testing was part of the design, not the final check
Testing in the hospital environment was a major part of the project. It exposed issues that were difficult to predict through studio prototyping alone.
My role
Kangubator was a two-designer project. We worked together across concept development and refinement, while my strongest contribution was the physical side of the design process.
Impact
The project resulted in a wearable Kangubator prototype designed to support Kangaroo Care during neonatal transport while accommodating the equipment required around the newborn.
Small physical decisions become big decisions in healthcare
A strap that is slightly too loose, a button that becomes inaccessible after routing a tube, or a flap that makes removing the baby harder are not minor usability issues when the user is a premature newborn.
Kangubator reinforced the value of making early physical prototypes and testing them in the environment where they will actually be used. For me, the strongest part of the project was the loop of making, wearing, observing, testing and changing.
The final form is only one part of the solution. The real design includes the people, equipment, assistance and conditions surrounding the product.