Cleerly is a healthcare technology company that uses artificial intelligence to help doctors understand heart disease in a clearer way. Think of it like a smart map for the heart’s arteries. Instead of only asking, “Is there a blockage?” Cleerly helps ask, “How much plaque is there, what kind is it, and how risky does it look?”
TLDR: Cleerly uses AI to analyze coronary CT angiography scans, also called CCTA, and helps doctors measure plaque in the heart’s arteries. For example, a patient may have only a mild narrowing, such as 30%, but Cleerly may show a larger amount of soft plaque that needs attention. This can help doctors choose earlier treatment, like cholesterol medicine or lifestyle changes. The goal is simple: find heart disease sooner and manage it smarter.
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What Is Cleerly?
Cleerly is an AI healthcare platform focused on coronary artery disease. That is the disease where plaque builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Plaque can be made of fat, calcium, and other material. Over time, it can narrow arteries or even rupture, which may lead to a heart attack.
Traditional heart testing often looks for big blockages. That is useful. But it can miss the bigger story. A person may not have a severe narrowing today, yet still have plaque that could become dangerous later. Cleerly tries to make that hidden story easier to see.
The company was built around a simple idea: look directly at the disease, not only the symptoms. Its platform uses AI to examine CCTA images and produce detailed information about plaque type, plaque volume, and artery narrowing.
How the Cleerly Platform Works
The process starts with a coronary CT angiography scan. This is a noninvasive imaging test. It uses CT technology to create detailed pictures of the heart arteries. No surgery is needed.
After the scan, the image data is processed by Cleerly’s software. The AI helps identify and measure plaque inside the arteries. It can separate different plaque types, such as calcified plaque and non-calcified plaque. This matters because not all plaque behaves the same way.
Here is the basic workflow:
- Step 1: A patient gets a CCTA scan.
- Step 2: The scan is sent to the Cleerly platform.
- Step 3: AI analyzes the coronary arteries.
- Step 4: The platform creates measurements and visual results.
- Step 5: Doctors use the information to support treatment decisions.
In simple terms, Cleerly turns a heart scan into a more detailed “plaque report card.” It does not replace the doctor. It helps the doctor see more.
What Makes Cleerly Different?
Cleerly is interesting because it focuses on the biology of heart disease. Many older tests look mostly for reduced blood flow. That is important, but it often shows up later in the disease process.
Cleerly looks at plaque itself. This can help doctors understand risk earlier. It is a bit like checking the condition of a bridge before traffic gets stuck. You do not want to wait until the bridge is closed. You want to know when cracks are forming.
The platform may help answer questions like:
- How much plaque is present?
- Where is the plaque located?
- Is the plaque hard, soft, or mixed?
- How narrow are the arteries?
- Has plaque changed over time?
That last question is important. If a patient is already on therapy, doctors may want to know whether plaque is growing, shrinking, or becoming more stable.
Cleerly Products and Solutions
Cleerly’s product set is built around AI analysis of CCTA images. Different health systems, imaging centers, and clinicians may use its tools in slightly different ways. But the core purpose is the same: make coronary artery disease easier to detect, measure, and monitor.
1. AI Plaque Analysis
This is the heart of the platform. Cleerly’s AI can evaluate coronary arteries and measure plaque burden. It can also classify plaque by type. This gives a more complete picture than simply saying, “There is a 50% blockage.”
Why does this matter? Because two people with the same blockage percentage may have very different plaque profiles. One may have mostly stable calcified plaque. Another may have more non-calcified plaque. Their care plans may not be the same.
2. Coronary Stenosis Assessment
Cleerly also helps assess stenosis, which means narrowing of the artery. Narrowing can reduce blood flow and cause symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath.
Doctors have long used stenosis as a key marker. Cleerly adds more detail by pairing narrowing information with plaque information. It is like seeing both the traffic jam and the road damage that caused it.
3. Disease Tracking Over Time
Heart disease is not frozen in place. It can improve or worsen. With repeat imaging, Cleerly’s measurements may help doctors track changes in plaque. This can support long-term care, especially for patients taking statins or other preventive medicines.
Clinical Applications
Cleerly can be used in several real clinical situations. The most common theme is better risk understanding.
Patients With Chest Pain
A patient with chest pain may need testing to see whether heart disease is present. CCTA can show the arteries. Cleerly can add AI-based plaque details. This may help doctors decide whether symptoms are linked to coronary disease.
Preventive Cardiology
Some patients do not have symptoms but have risk factors. These may include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking history, or family history. Cleerly may help doctors spot plaque before a major event happens.
Treatment Planning
If plaque is found, doctors may recommend lifestyle changes, medication, or further testing. For example, a patient with high plaque burden may need intensive cholesterol treatment. Another patient with low plaque burden may avoid unnecessary procedures.
Monitoring Therapy
After treatment begins, doctors may want to know whether it is working. Cleerly’s quantitative approach can support before-and-after comparisons. This makes heart care feel less like guesswork and more like tracking a fitness score.
A Simple User Case Scenario
Meet Maria. She is 54. She has high cholesterol and a father who had a heart attack at 58. Maria feels mostly fine, but she sometimes has mild chest pressure when walking uphill.
Her doctor orders a CCTA scan. The scan does not show a severe blockage. Good news. But Cleerly’s analysis shows a meaningful amount of non-calcified plaque in one artery. That gives the doctor more information.
Instead of saying, “Come back if it gets worse,” the doctor starts a stronger prevention plan. Maria begins cholesterol-lowering medicine, improves her diet, and walks 30 minutes most days. Six months later, her LDL cholesterol is down by 45%. That is a real win.
Why It Matters for Healthcare
Heart disease is one of the world’s biggest health problems. It can be silent for years. Many people do not know they have plaque until something serious happens. Tools like Cleerly aim to shift care from reactive to proactive.
This could help health systems in several ways:
- Earlier detection: Find disease before major symptoms.
- Better personalization: Match treatment to plaque type and burden.
- Fewer surprises: Reduce hidden risk in patients who seem “okay.”
- Clearer conversations: Show patients visual proof of their heart health.
Important Things to Know
Cleerly is a support tool. It is not a magic crystal ball. It does not replace cardiologists, radiologists, or clinical judgment. Doctors still consider symptoms, lab results, family history, medications, and other tests.
Also, not every patient needs a CCTA scan. Imaging decisions depend on medical history and risk. The best choice is always made with a qualified healthcare professional.
The Big Picture
Cleerly is part of a larger movement in medicine. AI is moving from buzzword to bedside tool. In heart care, that means scans can become more detailed, reports can become more useful, and patients can get a clearer view of their risk.
The fun part is that the idea is easy to understand. If plaque is the problem, then seeing plaque clearly should help. Cleerly’s platform helps doctors look inside the coronary arteries and measure the disease more directly.
In short, Cleerly wants to make heart disease less mysterious. It brings together AI, imaging, and preventive care in one smart package. For patients and doctors, that can mean faster answers, better plans, and maybe fewer scary surprises down the road.