A new piece of medical equipment, that addresses gaps in oral care for patients on ventilators, is about to hit the market in the United States, developed by an entrepreneur from Pasadena.

Deanne McCarthy, founder and CEO of Swiftsure Innovations, worked as a registered nurse at an ICU in the province. While working in the field, she learned after 24 hours on life support, the oral health status of her patients declined.

She found that it wasn’t a lack of trying but a lack of the right tools needed to perform her job. That’s why in 2021, McCarthy began her company, and in less than two year, developed the Swishkit.

McCarthy says it’s a really simple medical device, that easily fits into the oral cavity of mechanically ventilated patients. It allows health care providers to simultaneously rinse, and suction to clean areas that they could not possibly reach, with the goal of reducing pathogenic bacteria.

Since then, the company registered their product with the FDA and completed their first clinical study with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Swiftsure Innovations today announced its latest round of investments totaling $2.3 million. That funds will be used to complete a bacterial reduction study, and support the soft launch of the product on the US market.

McCarthy says her company has a big vision of giving nurses the right tools for the job, so they can be more effective in providing oral care to patients on life support, to improve patient outcomes and reduce health care spending.