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Clear Catheter Systems, Inc.
Clear Catheter Systems, Inc. is a Bend, OR based medical deivce company pioneering new technologies that are revoloutionizing medical tube drainage. The company’s lead product is the PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System.

History
The company is developing its anti-clogging platform of surgical drainage devices. By solving the clogging problem the company’s products will allow doctors to manage bleeding and clogging in large diameter chest tubes in a safer fashion. A further benefit is that surgeons will be able to utilize minimally invasive drainage tubes, resulting in a reduction in concern for clogging and increased patient comfort. The company has a pipeline of products based on its proprietary tube clearance technology to treat tube clogging in other medical market segments, including its system for the urinary catheter drainage market, and GastroFlow catheter system, for the enteral feeding market sector as well as systems for standard surgical drains.

Products
Chest tube clogging can lead to complications and increased costs. Chest tube stripping is not always reliable and may be hazardous. The PleuraFlow® was developed to keep chest tubes free of clot to maximize drainage and minimize drainage related complications. The PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System is inserted between the chest tube and the drainage tubing. It contains a guide wire with a distal loop that rests at the end of the tube. The system uses the loop to morcellate and scoop back clot towards the drainage canister. The PleuraFlow® Active Tube Clearance® System is driven by a proprietary magnetic drive to maintain a sterile environment within the tube.

About Chest Tube Clogging
After heart, lung and chest trauma surgery, fluid or air can accumulate in the chest, which can lead to complications and even death if not properly drained. Chest tubes are the primary mode of drainage, and are used in nearly all heart and lung surgery cases. Chest tubes are long, semi-stiff, clear PVC or silicone tubes that are inserted into the chest after heart, lung and trauma surgery to drain collections of fluids or air. They can be inserted in the pleural space around the lungs (pleural tubes) or around the heart (mediastinal tubes). Chest tubes are connected to a closed drainage system that is attached to suction. This drainage system is made up of a tubing coupler, which couples the chest tube to the drainage tubing that leads to the drainage canister. The drainage canister contains a water or dry seal mechanism to regulate pressure and prevent air from traveling back towards the chest. Because the pressure is generally lower in the closed suction drainage system than in the chest, the blood, fluid and air travel into the tubes and out to the drainage canister. Any blockage of the chest tube impairs drainage and can have significant adverse clinical consequences including death.