Trocamera

Trocamera is a new, patented medical device that will revolutionize diagnosis and treatment of abdominal pain in developing countries. It is a portable, low-cost, minimally invasive instrument, with re-usable and disposable components, which allows direct visualization of the abdominal cavity and may also be used in surgery. It is the first product of EndoWays, initially targeting the market for appendectomies in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil.

Each year, there are over 11 million visits to ERs in Latin America due to acute abdominal pain. Over 30% of patients are sent home without a definitive diagnosis, due to its difficulty and lack of equipment.

The functional prototype of Trocamera for diagnostic use in the Emergency Room has been designed in Colombia. It will be ready in early 2009, to begin first trials in "early adopter" hospitals in May. The prototype for therapeutic use will be developed during 2009. Component suppliers will be selected in Colombia and in other countries; the product will be initially assembled in Colombia, to protect the intellectual property.

The market for Trocamera is segmented geographically, initially directed at hospitals that treat large volumes of low-income patients in densely populated Latin American cities (Sao Paulo, México, Bogotá). There are 3 main customers: ER surgeons and nurses, hospital administrators, and insurers. A small, highly professional sales force will work with medical distributors and with our Manager of Professional Education (Trocamera Readiness).

500.000 appendectomies are performed each year in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia account for 76%), most of them open surgeries. The market opportunity for consumable components of Trocamera in these countries is US$78 million each year. Over 3.3 million cases of acute abdominal pain are sent home without a definite diagnosis each year. If Trocamera is used as a diagnostic tool in 10% of these, the additional market is U$33 million.

Determining the cause of abdominal pain in Latin American (LA) Emergency Rooms is a process that takes over 8 hours, includes lab exams, and several consultations with surgeons. This occurs in over 50% of the cases. Ultrasound and the CT-Scan provide non-invasive images of the abdominal cavity, but the CT-scan is available in less than 20% of LA hospitals, due to high cost of the equipment. These tools also require specialists to handle them.

The founding members of Endoways invented Trocamera
Low cost for hospitals (recurring revenue business model)
Cost savings
Early diagnosis, less ER congestion
Increase in healthcare personnel productivity

Trocamera is the result of market research with healthcare personnel and its development is based on modern techniques of user experience design.
Endoways has first mover advantage in the design of disruptive innovation solutions for the ER
Trocamera will sell at a fraction of the cost of laparoscopic tools (20 times less); it is portable, has low energy requirements, and needs less training to use

The market for appendectomies grows with the population; anybody can suffer from appendicitis. In addition, Trocamera has potential for use in other specialties like gynecology and trauma, and its use may be extended to other regions of the world.
Trocamera is the first product of Endoways, a Colombian company dedicated to offering innovative alternatives for early diagnosis and treatment in the ERs of hospitals in developing nations.

The EndoWays founding team has proved experience in the marketing and sale of medical equipment in Latin America, and in business creation. It consists of: Marcela Cárdenas –CEO-, Jaime Gonzalez -CFO-, and Rafael Arango –Marketing and Sales. We are all MBAs.
We have assembled a highly motivated development team, with experts in design, minimally invasive surgery, and engineering. We work hand in hand with Los Andes University in Bogota.

Our team has proven experience in the healthcare sector: Marcela participated in healthcare reform and improvement of hospital management in Colombia; Jaime is a financial expert who has worked 12 years in healthcare insurance; Rafael is an expert in marketing of medical devices. Our company is dedicated to the search of innovative, low-cost solutions for Emergency care. Our products are developed jointly with the university and hospitals.

I, Marcela, am dedicating half-time per week to the company since mid 2007, and expect to dedicate full-time in 2009. Our development team (2 designers, 2 engineers, 1 surgeon) dedicates part-time.

Trocamera will guarantee greater diagnostic accuracy of abdominal pain and immediate results, and will avoid unnecessary surgeries. If surgery is required, it will be ambulatory using Trocamera components and 1 small incision, thus less healthcare cost
Our product increases healthcare quality through early diagnosis of appendicitis, less ER congestion, less personnel stress, fewer complications, and less patients sent home without a diagnosis.