{"entity":{"id":"oncology-infusion-chairs","kind":"technology","name":"Oncology infusion and treatment chairs","aka":["Chemotherapy chair","Infusion recliner","Chemo chair","Treatment recliner","Champion Alō","Champion Ascent"],"tldr":"Most chemotherapy is given to people sitting in a reclining chair for one to several hours, and with scalp cooling sometimes longer. The chair is a regulated but low-risk medical device, and almost nothing has been published about whether it is comfortable or safe for skin over long sessions.","summary":"In the United States a treatment chair is a Class I device exempt from premarket notification if unpowered (21 CFR 880.6140, \"intended for use of blood donors, geriatric patients, or patients undergoing treatment or examination\", product code FRK) and a Class II device exempt on conditions if electrically positioned (21 CFR 890.3110, product code INO), the conditions being tests that safety controls prevent falls, that the chair bears its rated weight and that it lasts its service life. No product code names infusion or oncology. The mapping of powered infusion recliners to INO and unpowered ones to FRK is OnCo's reading of the definitions, not an FDA statement.\n\nMakers sell recliners for infusion bays: Champion Healthcare Solutions (formerly Champion Manufacturing, renamed in January 2025, which acquired Winco in 2021) markets the Alō and Ascent lines as \"Oncology & Infusion Medical Recliners\", describing \"powered recline and supine Trendelenburg positioning, a quick-release seat for complete cleaning and disinfecting, swing-away arms\"; Kwalu describes its Ellie recliner for \"infusion bays\". OnCo found no published study of chair comfort, pressure injury or ergonomics in oncology patients. The nearest is a pressure-mapping study of a hospital recliner in 34 healthy adults, in which recline position \"had no association with interface pressure outcomes\" while body weight and seat surface did. Chair time is itself a constraint: a 2025 review of scalp cooling notes that \"chair time, and equipment limitations all impact\" its use and that cooling stations outside the infusion chair have been proposed, and trials and registry data show that shorter post-infusion cooling keeps most of the benefit.","status":"standard-of-care","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"21 CFR 880.6140, medical chair and table (eCFR)","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-880/subpart-G/section-880.6140"},{"label":"21 CFR 890.3110, electric positioning chair (eCFR)","url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-890/subpart-D/section-890.3110"},{"label":"FDA product classification FRK: chair, examination and treatment","url":"https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPCD/classification.cfm?ID=FRK"},{"label":"FDA product classification INO: chair, positioning, electric","url":"https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPCD/classification.cfm?ID=INO"},{"label":"Champion Healthcare Solutions: oncology and infusion medical recliners","url":"https://championchair.com/clinical-applications/oncology-infusion-chairs/"},{"label":"Champion Manufacturing changes its name to Champion Healthcare Solutions (29 January 2025)","url":"https://championchair.com/champion-manufacturing-llc-announces-name-change-to-champion-healthcare-solutions/"},{"label":"Winco acquired by Champion Manufacturing (12 March 2021)","url":"https://championchair.com/winco-acquired-by-champion-manufacturing-inc/"},{"label":"Kwalu: Ellie recliner","url":"https://www.kwalu.com/?s=Ellie+Recliner"},{"label":"Slayton et al., pressure mapping of a standard hospital recliner in 34 healthy adults (J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs 2017)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1097/won.0000000000000300"},{"label":"Kaufman et al., duration of scalp cooling and how it fits the infusion day: a review (Support Care Cancer 2025)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-10058-y"}],"tags":["machines-wave3"],"related":["idea-mach-infusion-chair-pressure-study","idea-mach-cooling-off-the-chair"],"cancers":["breast-cancer","colorectal","nsclc","ovarian"],"sections":["chemotherapy","supportive-care","devices"],"technologies":["infusion-devices-vascular-access","cytotoxic-chemotherapy","scalp-cooling","limb-cryocompression-devices"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["stryker"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-toxicity-qol"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"provenance":{"editedBy":"OnCo machines inventory (openFDA, accessdata.fda.gov, ClinicalTrials.gov v2, Europe PMC, maker pages)","editedOn":"2026-11-04"},"principle":"A reclining chair positions the patient for venous access and long infusions, with powered recline that can tilt head-down (Trendelenburg), armrests for the infusion arm and surfaces that can be cleaned between patients.","strengths":["Lets most systemic therapy be given as day treatment","Powered head-down (Trendelenburg) recline on current models","Low regulatory risk class"],"limitations":["No published study of comfort or pressure injury in oncology infusion found","Sessions of several hours, longer with scalp cooling","Chair numbers set the capacity of an infusion unit"]},"route":"/technologies/oncology-infusion-chairs/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-mach-cooling-off-the-chair","kind":"idea","name":"Finish scalp cooling away from the infusion chair","route":"/ideas/idea-mach-cooling-off-the-chair/"},{"id":"idea-mach-infusion-chair-pressure-study","kind":"idea","name":"Measure skin pressure and comfort in oncology infusion chairs","route":"/ideas/idea-mach-infusion-chair-pressure-study/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"breast-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Breast cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/breast-cancer/"},{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"ovarian","kind":"cancer","name":"Ovarian cancer","route":"/cancers/ovarian/"}],"section":[{"id":"chemotherapy","kind":"section","name":"Chemotherapy","route":"/fronts/chemotherapy/"},{"id":"devices","kind":"section","name":"Devices & Physical Therapies","route":"/fronts/devices/"},{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cytotoxic-chemotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cytotoxic chemotherapy","route":"/technologies/cytotoxic-chemotherapy/"},{"id":"infusion-devices-vascular-access","kind":"technology","name":"Infusion pumps, ports, and ambulatory chemotherapy devices","route":"/technologies/infusion-devices-vascular-access/"},{"id":"limb-cryocompression-devices","kind":"technology","name":"Limb cryocompression devices for chemotherapy nerve damage (Paxman Neuropathy System, Hilotherm ChemoCare)","route":"/technologies/limb-cryocompression-devices/"},{"id":"manual-cold-caps","kind":"technology","name":"Manual cold caps (Penguin and other frozen-gel caps)","route":"/technologies/manual-cold-caps/"},{"id":"scalp-cooling","kind":"technology","name":"Scalp cooling (cold caps: DigniCap, Paxman)","route":"/technologies/scalp-cooling/"}],"company":[{"id":"stryker","kind":"company","name":"Stryker","route":"/companies/stryker/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"chemo-chair-comfort-devices-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Comfort devices at the chemotherapy chair: scalp cooling, cold caps, limb cryocompression and infusion chairs","route":"/roadmaps/chemo-chair-comfort-devices-roadmap/"}]}}