From Nurse to Medical Device Entrepreneur

Before founding Swiftsure Innovations, Deanne McCarthy was a critical care nurse and caregiver dedicated to aiding patients in dire need. She held herself to high standards, always asking, “If this was my critically ill-loved one, would this be acceptable to me?”

However, her job was not without its challenges. Providing oral care to ICU patients proved to be particularly frustrating. "Nurses can't visualize the oral cavity because these patients are unconscious and sedated, and the tube is crowding the oral cavity, making it impossible to clean above or behind it," she explains.

Patients are immobilized and in a sedated state, leaving nurses to fight an uphill battle to maintain the most basic levels of hygiene. Complicating things further, the average length of mechanical ventilation is five days, during which patients cannot eat or drink, which makes the oral environment a breeding ground for bacteria. Deanne sums it up by stating, "Imagine how terrible you'd feel if you slept all night with your mouth open and then woke up in the morning with that super dry mouth and literally couldn't go rinse your mouth after."

It was one heart-breaking incident that made her determined to take action. A patient — in his late 50s and a father of two high school children — despite a good prognosis for recovery, developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to poor oral hygiene, ultimately leading to multi-organ failure and death. It was a tragic loss for the patient’s family and a moment that shook Deanne to her core. She found herself lying awake at night, obsessed with how to improve oral care in the ICU. That’s why she took it upon herself to come up with a solution for this overlooked part of patient care.

With the support of Creative Destruction Lab, a  non-profit accelerator for seed-stage, life science companies, Deanne assembled a team and developed a device capable of safely and effectively cleaning the oral cavity of patients on life support. The single-use mouthpiece enables nurses to reach all areas of the oral cavity, even those difficult to access because of tubes.

Deanne's background proved invaluable in this entrepreneurial endeavor. The fact that she learned the ropes of contracts, relationship management, and corporate governance early in her career helped lay a strong foundation for her venture. But Deanne also had an ally she couldn't have predicted: a sudden change in industry guidelines.

In May 2022, the Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) prevention guidelines were updated, urging for the de-adoption of chlorhexidine — a previously common antimicrobial used for limiting bacteria in oral care. The timing couldn't have been better for Swiftsure Innovations, as the industry scrambled to find alternative solutions.

The company has made incredible progress since its inception. In less than 18 months, Swiftsure reached design freeze, transferred manufacturing, completed a positive clinical use validation study at the Cleveland Clinic, and registered with FDA. All of this on a budget of less than $1 million.

Currently, their product is available via a limited commercial release, but a full market launch is anticipated in 2024. Deanne shares, “Our work with early adopters is going to help us validate our business model, our pricing assumptions, optimize our training materials, and solidify relationships with our early customers.” 

Key Learnings From Deanne’s Experience

• Good accelerator programs will allow you to tap into a wealth of expertise. Don’t be shy about converting your mentors into active players in your startup. 

• Not knowing everything is perfectly okay. Harness your curiosity in every facet of your venture to ensure you find the right resources to reach your milestones. 

• Don’t be afraid to ask for favors. And to reciprocate, approach your network with a spirit of generosity.