ClearCount Medical Solutions announced today that its innovative SmartSponge and SmartWand DTX technology is the first and only technology of its kind to receive CE Marking.
The new technology meets the requirements of the Medical Devices Directive (MDD) which means the devices can now be sold in 27 member countries and ClearCount Medical Solutions is now looking for commercial funding in order to sell the products across the European Union.
The SmartSponge system is designed to monitor numbers of medical sponges within hospitals and other health facilities and ensure that sponges are not left in patients during surgery.
The system, which uses a Radio Frequency Identification platform (RFID) gives any sponge used during surgery a unique identification and since the technology has been implemented there have been no incidences of sponges being left inside patients.
Statistics show that on average surgical equipment is left inside patients receiving chest or abdominal surgery in one in every 1500 surgical procedures. This leads to the need for more surgery and can cause infection and even death.
ClearCount Medical Solutions currently operate in the US and over the past two years there have been no reported incidences of sponges or surgical equipment being left inside patients in hospitals that utilise their technology.
CEO of ClearCount David Palmer explained that the CE marking approval was a milestone for the company and called the news a ‘significant achievement’.
ClearCount have established themselves as one of the world’s leading manufactuers of medical safety equipment and it is hoped that their success in the US will now extend all over Europe. The SmartSponge and SmartWand technologies are expected to be well received within the EU and could save medical facilities millions by enhancing productivity and improving safety.