History

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Dr. Neville Henry

"There has to be a better way to do this".

In 1994, this comment from a senior nurse about the processes of scalpel blade removal sparked the invention of Qlicksmart.

Within two weeks, Dr Neville Henry, a general practitioner in the Emergency Department of Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, made a prototype of the Qlicksmart system, which was able to remove all blades from Swann-Morton #3, #4 and #7 handles.

Following an international review of existing procedures, injury occurrences, costs and devices used, the decision was made to commercialise the invention.

During this time, Qlicksmart was improved to work with nearly all #3, #4 and #7 handles and the decision was taken to complete commercial design and undertake manufacture in Australia for the international market. Following further research and consultation with Australian and overseas focus groups (USA, UK and Sweden), the design was modified to include a "counter" and over-fill prevention mechanism.

In 1997, final design, testing and manufacture were completed and a soft product launch occurred at the biannual Hospital+Healthcare Trade Exhibition held in Melbourne, Australia in late November where it received the Best New Product Award, "Infection Control". Since that time, Qlicksmart has been the recipient of three other prestigious awards and is being marketed and sold internationally.

After inventing the world's first single-handed scalpel blade remover – the multi-award winning Qlicksmart Flask, Qlicksmart's range of MISTAKE-PROOFING DEVICES has been expanded to include:

•Qlicksmart CASSETTE 3in1 - The world’s first STERILE, single-handed scalpel blade remover. It is designed for use in the sterile operating room environment.
•Qlicksmart CHECK CLIP - The world’s most effective medication error reduction device of its type. It enables paramedics and healthcare professionals to label syringes in a fast, convenient and mistake-free manner.
•Qlicksmart Snapit - The world’s best ampoule breaker. It ensures safe and easy opening of glass ampoules, minimising risk of injury.