ClearCam – 500 Human Cases
Two weeks ago, a surgeon in Central Texas performed a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy using the ClearCam Kelling. The kidney was then successfully transplanted into the donor’s relative. The Kelling helped make this operation successful by allowing for clear visualization throughout the surgery and eliminating the need to remove the laparoscope and clean it.
What an exciting 500th case for ClearCam!
499 procedures ago this would not have been possible. The surgeon would have had to continually interrupt her surgery to remove the laparoscope and clean the distal tip, thus losing her concentration and position. But no longer is scope removal necessary, due to our laparoscopic windshield wiper.
ClearCam has sold over 500 products since we began commercial pilots last year. Over 300 of those sales occurred in the past 4 months, as commercialization efforts began in earnest. We are actively engaged with surgeons throughout Texas, and soon, Michigan and Virginia. We are looking forward to sharing some of their stories in our upcoming #ClearCamVisionaries series here and on Linkedin.
In 2020, we initiated Clinical Pilots of our product in various US locations. Our team has written here, on this blog, about our learnings from that period and those lessons learned were significant. We gained an understanding of training, device use, and product positioning.
In 2021, we moved into Commercial Pilots here in Texas, while continuing our Clinical Pilots. We needed to understand the value we were providing surgeons and OR teams. Since then, we’ve learned that VATS (Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery), foregut surgery, and gynecologic surgery really showcase our product value. We have subsequently spent more time working with those surgeons and selling product to them. We also realized how important field representation was and started to formulate our commercialization strategy around building a small, incredibly focused, and nimble sales group to meet our needs.
Fast forward to today. We hired Lance Gay as Director of Sales in March and are bringing our first Territory Manager on in July. We will be expanding with a third Territory Manager in the August/September timeframe. Sales have gained traction at Ascension Seton hospitals, BSW hospitals, and Methodist Dallas. We will be adding more facilities in the coming weeks and months as more surgeons become familiar with Kelling and our sales organization connects with them.
One of our key clinical goals of completing 1000 human-use cases is within reach. We expect to achieve this milestone in September of this year.
We look forward to sharing our #ClearCamVisionaries stories in the coming months. Clinicians deserve optimal visualization in the human body during minimally invasive surgery. We are proud of our product, ClearCam Kelling, for providing that clarity and improving safety in the OR.
Warm regards,
Doug Stoakley
Cofounder, President, and COO
ClearCam- Surgery As It’s Meant To Be Seen
