It’s patient care, via camera

By Nichole Livengood  

APRIL 14, 2011 8:27 a.m. (0)

Shannon Pierce had just become a nurse when her three brothers were diagnosed with Alports Syndrome, a rare kidney disease.

From 1999 until 2004 she spent a lot of time with them in and out of medical facilities.

When they died, she felt helpless, but the need to do something meaningful with her life rose up as well.

“The best doctors and the best medical care we could provide wasn’t enough to save them,” she said.

She knew she could not cure the disease, but she did come up with an idea that could transform the medical community and change the quality of life for patients.

It’s a device to allow doctors, nurses, patients and care givers to videotape patients that would become part of their medical records.

Often times when her brothers were hospitalized, she says nurses and doctors had to leave the bedside to find information on medication or care.

She drew the plans with a crayon and took them to Ray Schroeder, the president and CEO of Interim Healthcare and Dr. Michael Bucci, a neurosurgeon at Piedmont Neurosurgical Group. She had worked with them as a clinical care nurse at St. Francis Hospital.

“I told them to imagine healthcare without written or typed documents. Then imagine an accurate and flawless record.  I told them I thought we could do it with video.”

They politely listened and then sent her on her way, but both called Pierce back within 24 hours and told her not to talk to anyone else about the idea.

The three formed CareCam Innovations and got a patent.

“When I showed them my drawings, I didn’t know I was asking them to help me start a company,” she said.

Bo Aughtry and Russell Smart of Windsor Aughtry spent time helping her devise a business plan, and through the process of putting numbers on paper, they decided to invest in the company in 2010.

The idea was to issue patients a smart-phone-type device when they receive their ID badge at a medical facility.  The device uses bar code technology, which allows the user to tag information for easy access later.

Clinicians activate the device with a bar code identification so which doctor or nurse treating the patient is documented at all times.

Medications and medical supplies are scanned and administration is recorded.

If you want to know when a patient had medication, you can access the type and amount, who administered the medication, and video them administering medication to the patient. The device never leaves the patient’s bedside, and if it does, an alarm sounds.

“It creates very accurate records,” said Pierce.  Patients and caregivers can record what is going on with the patient even if a clinician is not in the room, and it becomes part of a patient’s record.

“I felt it was very important that a patient was an active participant with their care.  The patient can turn the device on and off.  If the device is on the light is green and if it is off, the light is red.  It’s not a secret recording,” she says.  “A nurse or physician may use five or six devices to accomplish what the unit is issued to the patient can do. Current record keeping is fragmented and not very cost effective.”

The first clinical trials for the CareCam System’s ICan took place at Greenville Pharmaceutical Research.

“Even the elderly were far more receptive than I anticipated,” said Pierce.

They completed pilot clinical trials last December.

“We are currently using the feedback from clinical trials to change the specifications a little bit. A team of hardware and software designers are working on another set of prototypes which will be used for the next round of clinical trials.”

As one of SC Launch’s portfolio companies, CareCam received a $200,000 investment in January.

“By connecting with SC Launch, we were connected with a huge resource of people who had ‘been there and done that.’ It amazes me how willing people are to share their experiences, the doors that it opens, and the close camaraderie between entrepreneurs,” she said.

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