Company - ClearCollar™

The ClearCollar™ Story

Carefully removing a conventional cervical collar from a car accident victim, Alan Donaldson, Emergency Room Nurse of over 20 years exclaimed out loud, "Why don't they just make these things clear so we can see what's going on!?" The doctor immediately agreed.

That night, using everyday household plastics, Alan created the prototype of what would become the world's first, fully-transparent cervical immobilization collar.

Mr. Donaldson then set out to bring the clear cervical collar to the market. Ahead of his time, Mr. Donaldson learned that while enthusiasm existed for the product in the medical industry, the technology and process to manufacture a transparent cervical collar simply wasn't available at that time

A few years later Cassmer Ward, now CEO of the ClearCollar™, and a business team from Queens University, Jeremi Snook, now COO, and Robert Weatherwax, now Director of Manufacturing, approached Mr. Donaldson with a proposal to help make his dream a reality. "It ended up being a perfect storm for success," says Ward, "the technology in TPE (plastic) technology was there, survey research indicating that the market was eager for this kind of product was there and of course the patent was there. Now all we needed were start-up funds."

For the next twelve months, the new ClearCollar™ team promoted the concept to angel groups, medical professionals and medical investors across the nation. "We were overwhelmed by the response," says Jeremi Snook, "we were able to raise just under $1 MM in capital funds during one of the worst recessions in U.S. history."

So what makes the ClearCollar™ such a novel and exciting product? "It's a no-brainer," contributes Bertrand Fote, M.D., FACEP, Assistant Medical Director for Rowan County EMS. "Anytime you can see more of what's going on with the patient without further exposing the patient to unnecessary risk is a good thing."

This 'no-brainer' sentiment about the ClearCollar™ is shared by paramedics, nurses and physicians across the nation and around the globe. While in test run, the ClearCollar™ sample generated interest and inquires from Canada, England, South Korea and the Middle East. The EMS-tested and refined design has continued to generate interest, and has been found applicable to all situations in which cervical collars are used, from the emergency room through treatment and rehabilitation.

This truly is one of those rare innovations on the road to trauma management success - a product born out of the need to literally see more and minimize unnecessary cervical spine movement, created by one of the medical industry's own, an Emergency Room nurse.

Clear Advantage Collar, Inc. is a registered C-Corporation in North Carolina headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information on the company or to inquire about employment opportunities, email info@theclearcollar.com.