About Us

Our Story

iCount was inspired by a true patient story shared here and the recurring incidents of avoidable harm caused by retained surgical swabs.

• The innovation was nurtured within the NHS by NHS Clinicians supported by Keele and Wolverhampton Universities,

Subsequently, it had to be transitioned into a small, clinician-led enterprise to enable manufacturing, regulatory readiness, and wider adoption, while remaining firmly rooted in NHS values. 

Co-founders used their own funds primarily and were also supported by highly competitive national grants from Innovate UK to fund some of the development.

Since one of the co-founders felt that she needed a better understanding of human factors-ergonomics and systems thinking during the development phase, she did a University qualification after enrolling into a Master’s course.

• R&D of a medical device is arduous and resource-intensive
• The costs of iterative engineering development, intellectual property management, regulatory and testing ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The development took 8 years with 18 prototypes and many cycles of simulation and human factors usability. Many of the simulations were done independently by NIHR HRC.

• We have international granted patents and international publications in reputed journals like the BMJ.
• The system has also been designed with sustainability in mind, reducing carbon impact in life cycle analysis, with a bioplastic option available for trusts prioritising environmental impact.

Given the national focus on maternity and surgical safety and reducing avoidable harm, we believe iCount offers a practical, immediately deployable enhancement to existing safety and governance frameworks.