Kirby Lester tablet counters incorporate patented technologies to count clusters of tablets, capsules and any similar-sized parts. These "intelligent" systems can also provide an estimate of the ideal vial size for that prescription (in drams).

This patented technology counts tablets and capsules with unmatched accuracy levels.

Most tablet counters use a light beam and simple photosensor to count individual parts. These counters increment by one each time the beam is interrupted by a falling tablet etc.

Errors occur if two or more tablets or capsules are in contact when they break the beam of light.

Some counters work on a weight principle, sampling five or ten parts that are manually counted and placed on a scale before the prescription is counted. The average weight of these parts is used to calculate the total count. Weight counters are generally less accurate than optical counters because of the variable weight of each part.

Accuracy is also affected by the number of manually counted parts. A larger number produces better results, but slight weight variations in the sample lead to errors in the extrapolated total count.

Some weigh counters store the average weights of manual counted parts for different products and the corresponding values are retrieved when a bar code is scanned. If the stored average weights are not representative of a new batch being counted more frequent and larger errors are likely to occur. Weights often vary between batches, here are some typical examples:

Product	Weight of 30 parts Batch A	Weight of 30 parts Batch B	% Difference
Coated Tablet	56.99g	56.67g	0.55%
Caplet	37.6g	37.0g	1.4%
Coated Tablet	43.1g	42.6g	1.13%

Model	KL15e	KL15i	KL15df	KL16	KL20	KL25	KL30	KL50ic	KL50icf	KL200
U.S. Patent
5,317,645
5,768,327
5,473,703
6,370,215
7,219,703
Canada Patent
2,060,871