Viscgo
Founded 2015 · 3 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
Viscgo produces dysphagia (swallowing difficulty) assessment and training tools for healthcare professionals and clinicians, including consistency test devices, measurement cups, and awareness training materials.
Also known as Viscgo Limited
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Viscgo Limited is a Manchester-based medical device company that develops products to test and manage food and drink consistency for people with dysphagia (swallowing difficulty). Its core products are Drink Thickness Test Sticks, which indicate whether a drink thickened with xanthan gum-based thickener matches a prescribed thickness level by standing up or falling down, and a Food Consistency Test Fork with a built-in pressure gauge, calibrated to check that texture-modified food conforms to the IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) Framework. Additional items include a measuring and testing cup, a thickened drink stirrer, a CTAR ball, colour-coded Level 1 (grey), Level 2 (pink) and Level 3 (yellow) test kits, an SLT/SLP assessment kit and the official IDDSI Funnel used for the IDDSI flow test.
Alongside hardware, Viscgo offers dysphagia awareness training aligned to Level 1 of the Eating Drinking and Swallowing Competency Framework (EDSCF), written and presented by Dr Liz Boaden, lead author of the EDSCF and a Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. The training comprises seven videos totalling 38 minutes, including videofluoroscopies of the normal swallow, aspiration and thickened drinks, and is supplemented by a free half-hour CPD webinar for dysphagia practitioners and product demonstration videos. The company also publishes usage instructions in multiple formats, including video and large font, and operates a help desk.
Founding story
Viscgo was founded by speech and language therapist Dr Elizabeth Boaden and new product development and engineering specialist Steven Bookbinder, with the stated aim of addressing the lack of an easy, accurate way for people with dysphagia to measure drink thickness. Bookbinder serves as CEO.
Business model
Viscgo sells physical testing devices, kits and training directly through an online shop, priced individually (for example, the Food Consistency Test Fork at £16, the Dysphagia Pack at £40, the CTAR Ball at £8 and Dysphagia Awareness Training at £30, all plus VAT or sales tax) and in multipacks. It also offers a monthly subscription for care homes bundling the Dysphagia Pack with training at £14 per month, and runs an affiliate programme.
Revenue comes from one-off product and kit sales, bundled packs, paid online training, and recurring monthly subscriptions for care homes.
Traction
By the time of the 2021 funding round the team had grown to eight people, and the company was working with Health Innovation Manchester, an Academic Health Science Network, on a proof of concept supported by the ERDF-funded Research and Innovation Health Accelerator in Greater Manchester. Its catalogue lists 18 products, and testimonials come from speech and language therapists, dysphagia trainers, care-sector caterers and a medical supplies distributor.
Latest developments
The company has launched its Food Consistency Test Fork and the Viscgo Dysphagia Pack, which bundles the fork, test sticks, measuring and testing cup, stirrer, awareness training, CTAR ball and IDDSI funnel, and has made the official IDDSI Funnel available. Dysphagia awareness training is offered free for a limited period, alongside a free CPD webinar for practitioners.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
A small UK medical device business focused specifically on dysphagia consistency testing and associated training, working with healthcare providers in the UK and abroad.
The company positions its fork as the only one calibrated specifically to verify that texture-modified food adheres to the IDDSI Framework, and its sticks as a practical alternative to the IDDSI syringe test, which users describe as impractical and with syringes hard to obtain. Its sticks are described by a supplier as independently verified for IDDSI adherence.
Technology
Calibrated physical test instruments referenced to the IDDSI Framework: test sticks calibrated for xanthan gum-based thickened drinks that indicate thickness level by standing or falling, a fork with an integrated pressure gauge for the IDDSI fork pressure test calibrated in collaboration with dysphagia chefs, a measuring and testing cup and stirrer, and the official IDDSI funnel for flow testing. Products are described as dishwasher-safe and reusable.
Go-to-market
Direct e-commerce through the company website, supported by demonstration and training videos, testimonials from speech and language therapists and dysphagia specialists, a care home package and care-in-the-community offering, an affiliate programme, and distribution-oriented relationships with suppliers such as Associated Medical Supplies Co Ltd. Funding raised in 2021 was used to recruit business development and marketing managers.
People with dysphagia and their family carers, care homes and their catering staff, hospital wards, speech and language therapists, dysphagia practitioners and chefs preparing texture-modified food.
Geography
Headquartered in the UK, with a registered address at 19 Butt Hill Avenue, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 9PN, and previously reported as based at Manchester Science Park. The company states it targets healthcare providers across the UK and abroad.
History
The company is registered in England and Wales under company number 09744207. In August 2021 it completed a £315,000 investment round while based at Manchester Science Park, using proceeds for research and development and to recruit business development and marketing staff, growing the team to eight, coinciding with the launch of its Drink Thickness Test Sticks. It subsequently launched the Food Consistency Test Fork and the Viscgo Dysphagia Pack, and added the official IDDSI Funnel to its range.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsViscgo announced availability of its Food Consistency Test Fork, calibrated to test that texture-modified food adheres to the IDDSI Framework with a built-in pressure gauge, and the Viscgo Dysphagia Pack bundling the fork, test sticks, measuring and testing cup, stirrer, awareness training, CTAR ball and IDDSI funnel.
Viscgo completed a £315,000 investment round including a £50,000 investment from GC Angels, following investment from a predominantly North West cohort of institutional and private investors including the GM&C Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures, and Deepbridge Capital. Proceeds funded R&D and the recruitment of business development and marketing managers, growing the team to eight.
Viscgo was working with Health Innovation Manchester, an Academic Health Science Network, on a proof of concept, with support delivered through the ERDF-funded Research and Innovation Health Accelerator in Greater Manchester.
Viscgo's CEO stated the investment came as the company launched its Drink Thickness Test Sticks, which indicate whether a thickened drink meets a prescribed consistency by standing up or falling down.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Viscgoviscgo.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Viscgo do?
- UK medical device company making IDDSI-calibrated dysphagia testing tools and training for clinicians, carers and care homes.
- Who are Viscgo's investors?
- Viscgo's investors include GC Angels.