CairnSurgical is a clinical-stage medical device company in Lebanon, New Hampshire, building patient-specific surgical guidance for breast cancer lumpectomy. Its Breast Cancer Locator (BCL) System pairs a 3D-printed, bra-like form molded to each patient's anatomy with an interactive 3D Visualizer derived from supine MRI, giving surgeons a precise blueprint of a tumor's size, shape, depth and edges. The goal is to cut the 20 to 25 percent re-excision rate in breast-conserving surgery toward zero. Spun out of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in 2015, the company reported 94 percent margin-negative resections in a European study and filed for FDA De Novo clearance in 2026.
Dave Danielsen is the CEO of CairnSurgical, a clinical-stage medical device company in Lebanon, New Hampshire, that spun out of Dartmouth in 2015. He leads development of the Breast Cancer Locator System, a patient-specific, 3D-printed surgical guide paired with visualization software that helps surgeons see a tumor's size, shape, and location before a lumpectomy and remove it with cleaner margins. A West Point graduate with a Tuck School MBA, Danielsen has spent his career running commercial-stage health and diagnostics companies, and is now steering CairnSurgical through its U.S. pivotal trial, FDA submission, and early commercial launch in Europe.