{"slug":"devices-gaps-2026-11","tag":"devices-gaps-2026-11","variants":["devices-gaps-2026-11"],"description":"No description yet","count":61,"kinds":{"technology":50,"company":8,"term":3},"related":[],"records":[{"id":"implanted-ports","kind":"technology","name":"Implanted ports for chemotherapy (port-a-cath, power-injectable, apheresis and intraperitoneal ports)","route":"/technologies/implanted-ports/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A port is a small disc placed under the skin of the chest or arm with a thin tube running into a large vein. Nurses reach it through the skin with a special needle, so chemotherapy and blood tests do not need a new needle in an arm vein every time."},{"id":"picc-lines","kind":"technology","name":"Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC lines)","route":"/technologies/picc-lines/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A long thin tube put in through a vein in the upper arm so that its tip lies near the heart. It stays in for weeks or months, so chemotherapy can be given and blood taken without repeated needles."},{"id":"huber-needles-port-access","kind":"technology","name":"Non-coring (Huber) needles for port access","route":"/technologies/huber-needles-port-access/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"The bent needle a nurse pushes through the skin into an implanted port. Its tip is shaped so it slices rather than punches the port's rubber seal, which lets the seal close again after thousands of uses."},{"id":"picc-tip-location-systems","kind":"technology","name":"PICC tip location systems (Sherlock 3CG, SmartPICC)","route":"/technologies/picc-tip-location-systems/","status":"established","tldr":"Systems that use the heart's electrical signal and a magnetic tracker to show where the tip of a PICC line is while it is being put in, so most patients do not need a chest X-ray afterwards before the line can be used."},{"id":"catheter-securement-devices","kind":"technology","name":"Catheter securement devices and dressings (SecurAcath, Tegaderm CHG)","route":"/technologies/catheter-securement-devices/","status":"established","tldr":"Ways of holding a PICC or central line in place without stitches: a small anchor that sits just under the skin, or a see-through dressing containing an antiseptic gel that also helps keep infection away."},{"id":"needleless-connector-disinfecting-caps","kind":"technology","name":"Disinfecting caps for needleless connectors (Curos)","route":"/technologies/needleless-connector-disinfecting-caps/","status":"emerging","tldr":"A small cap soaked in alcohol that screws onto the end of a central line between uses, meant to keep the connector clean and lower the chance of a line infection."},{"id":"catheter-lock-solutions","kind":"technology","name":"Catheter lock solutions (heparin, taurolidine and DefenCath)","route":"/technologies/catheter-lock-solutions/","status":"established","tldr":"A small volume of liquid left inside a central line or port between uses to stop it clotting and, in some products, to kill bacteria. The one American antimicrobial lock approved so far is licensed only for kidney dialysis lines, not cancer lines."},{"id":"ambulatory-chemotherapy-pumps","kind":"technology","name":"Ambulatory and elastomeric pumps for home chemotherapy (CADD-Solis, Curlin, Sapphire, Avoset, SMARTeZ)","route":"/technologies/ambulatory-chemotherapy-pumps/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Small pumps carried in a bag or pocket that keep chemotherapy running into a port or PICC line for one or two days at home, for example the 46-hour fluorouracil infusion used for bowel cancer."},{"id":"pca-pumps","kind":"technology","name":"Patient-controlled analgesia pumps","route":"/technologies/pca-pumps/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A pump that lets a person in pain give themselves a small, pre-set dose of pain relief by pressing a button, with a lock-out so they cannot take too much."},{"id":"syringe-drivers","kind":"technology","name":"Syringe pumps and subcutaneous syringe drivers","route":"/technologies/syringe-drivers/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A small pump that pushes the plunger of a syringe slowly over a day, used in palliative care to give medicines for pain, sickness and agitation under the skin when someone can no longer swallow."},{"id":"smart-infusion-pumps","kind":"technology","name":"Smart infusion pumps with drug libraries (Novum IQ, Plum, Infusomat Space, Agilia, Ivenix)","route":"/technologies/smart-infusion-pumps/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"The hospital pumps on drip stands that run chemotherapy and fluids into a vein. Their built-in library of drug limits warns the nurse if a dose or rate is outside the safe range."},{"id":"hepatic-arterial-infusion-pump","kind":"technology","name":"Implanted hepatic artery infusion pump (Intera 3000)","route":"/technologies/hepatic-arterial-infusion-pump/","status":"established","tldr":"A pump about the size of a hockey puck placed under the skin of the abdomen during an operation, with a tube into the artery feeding the liver. It sends chemotherapy straight to tumours in the liver and is refilled through the skin every few weeks."},{"id":"intrathecal-drug-delivery-pumps","kind":"technology","name":"Implanted intrathecal drug delivery pumps for cancer pain (SynchroMed, Prometra)","route":"/technologies/intrathecal-drug-delivery-pumps/","status":"established","tldr":"A pump placed under the skin of the abdomen that delivers tiny doses of pain medicine directly into the fluid around the spinal cord, for cancer pain that tablets and patches do not control."},{"id":"enteral-feeding-pumps","kind":"technology","name":"Enteral feeding pumps and enteral-specific connectors","route":"/technologies/enteral-feeding-pumps/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A small pump that runs liquid feed through a feeding tube at a steady rate, used at home by people who cannot eat enough after head and neck or gullet cancer treatment."},{"id":"ostomy-appliances","kind":"technology","name":"Stoma bags and baseplates (one-piece, two-piece, convex, urostomy, caps and leak alerts)","route":"/technologies/ostomy-appliances/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"The bags that collect stool or urine from a stoma. They come as one piece or as a bag that clips onto a separate sticky base, in closed, drainable and urostomy versions, with curved (convex) bases for stomas that sit flat or below the skin."},{"id":"colostomy-irrigation","kind":"technology","name":"Colostomy irrigation systems","route":"/technologies/colostomy-irrigation/","status":"established","tldr":"A way for some people with a colostomy to empty the bowel with water through the stoma once a day or every other day, so that they need only a small cap or patch in between instead of a bag."},{"id":"ostomy-support-garments","kind":"technology","name":"Ostomy belts and parastomal hernia support garments","route":"/technologies/ostomy-support-garments/","status":"established","tldr":"Belts, pants and wraps that support the tummy around a stoma, worn to hold the bag securely or to support a bulge (parastomal hernia) that can develop next to a stoma."},{"id":"ostomy-skin-care-products","kind":"technology","name":"Stoma skin protectors, seals, pastes and adhesive removers","route":"/technologies/ostomy-skin-care-products/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Rings, pastes, wipes and sprays that protect the skin around a stoma and stop leaks, and sprays that dissolve the glue so a bag comes off without pulling the skin."},{"id":"ostomy-output-management-products","kind":"technology","name":"Stoma output thickeners and deodorants","route":"/technologies/ostomy-output-management-products/","status":"established","tldr":"Sachets put in the bag that turn watery output into gel, and drops or sprays that cut down on smell, used mostly with an ileostomy."},{"id":"breast-implants","kind":"technology","name":"Breast implants for reconstruction (silicone gel, saline and shaped cohesive gel)","route":"/technologies/breast-implants/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Implants filled with silicone gel or salt water used to rebuild a breast after mastectomy. They are not lifetime devices: some need replacing, and the FDA requires a warning and a checklist that patients read before agreeing to them."},{"id":"breast-tissue-expanders","kind":"technology","name":"Breast tissue expanders (saline and carbon dioxide)","route":"/technologies/breast-tissue-expanders/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A temporary empty implant placed at mastectomy and gradually filled over weeks to stretch the skin, so that a permanent implant can be put in later."},{"id":"acellular-dermal-matrix-breast","kind":"technology","name":"Acellular dermal matrices and meshes in implant reconstruction","route":"/technologies/acellular-dermal-matrix-breast/","status":"established","tldr":"Sheets of processed animal or human skin, or absorbable synthetic mesh, used by surgeons to cover or support a breast implant or expander. The FDA has warned that complication rates differ between products."},{"id":"external-breast-prostheses","kind":"technology","name":"External breast prostheses, mastectomy bras and nipple prostheses","route":"/technologies/external-breast-prostheses/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A breast form worn inside a bra after mastectomy instead of, or before, reconstruction. They come in silicone, foam and fibre, stick-on and pocket versions, and as stick-on nipples; American insurers cover replacements on a set schedule."},{"id":"nipple-areola-tattooing","kind":"technology","name":"Nipple and areola tattooing after breast surgery","route":"/technologies/nipple-areola-tattooing/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Tattooing colour onto a rebuilt breast to create the look of an areola and nipple, usually done some months after reconstruction is finished."},{"id":"pneumatic-compression-lymphoedema","kind":"technology","name":"Pneumatic compression pumps for lymphoedema (Flexitouch, Lympha Press, Hydroven)","route":"/technologies/pneumatic-compression-lymphoedema/","status":"established","tldr":"An inflatable sleeve or garment connected to a pump that squeezes the swollen arm or leg in waves, used at home alongside compression garments to move fluid out of a limb with lymphoedema."},{"id":"voice-prostheses","kind":"technology","name":"Voice prostheses after laryngectomy (Provox, Blom-Singer)","route":"/technologies/voice-prostheses/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A small one-way valve fitted between the windpipe and the gullet after the voice box is removed. Covering the breathing hole in the neck sends air through the valve, and the throat vibrates to make a voice."},{"id":"laryngectomy-stoma-care-devices","kind":"technology","name":"Heat and moisture exchangers, laryngectomy tubes and stoma protectors","route":"/technologies/laryngectomy-stoma-care-devices/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Small filters worn over the breathing hole in the neck after the voice box is removed. They warm, moisten and clean the air the nose used to, and covers and guards keep water and dust out when showering or outdoors."},{"id":"coloplast","kind":"company","name":"Coloplast","route":"/companies/coloplast/","tldr":"Coloplast makes stoma bags, skin care and continence products. It is the largest stoma product supplier on the NHS prescription list for England by number of product lines."},{"id":"convatec","kind":"company","name":"ConvaTec","route":"/companies/convatec/","tldr":"ConvaTec makes stoma bags and skin care products, including the Esteem and Natura lines, alongside wound and infusion care products."},{"id":"hollister","kind":"company","name":"Hollister","route":"/companies/hollister/","tldr":"Hollister makes stoma bags and skin barriers, including the Moderma Flex and CeraPlus lines."},{"id":"salts-healthcare","kind":"company","name":"Salts Healthcare","route":"/companies/salts-healthcare/","tldr":"Salts Healthcare is a British maker of stoma bags and seals, including the Confidence range."},{"id":"atos-medical","kind":"company","name":"Atos Medical","route":"/companies/atos-medical/","tldr":"Atos Medical makes the Provox voice prostheses and the filters, tubes and covers people use after their voice box is removed."},{"id":"establishment-labs","kind":"company","name":"Establishment Labs (Motiva)","route":"/companies/establishment-labs/","tldr":"Establishment Labs makes Motiva breast implants and tissue expanders, approved in the United States in 2024."},{"id":"uoaa","kind":"company","name":"United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA)","route":"/companies/uoaa/","tldr":"A national charity in the United States for people who have or will have a stoma, running local support groups, a virtual clinic and advocacy."},{"id":"wocn-society","kind":"company","name":"Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN)","route":"/companies/wocn-society/","tldr":"The professional society for specialist wound, ostomy and continence nurses in the United States, the nurses who mark the stoma site before surgery and help with bags and sore skin afterwards."},{"id":"nhs-stoma-supply-route","kind":"term","name":"Stoma supplies on NHS prescription in England (appliance contractors and customisation)","route":"/terms/nhs-stoma-supply-route/","tldr":"In England stoma bags and accessories are prescribed by the GP and supplied by a pharmacy or a specialist home-delivery company, which can also cut bags to fit and review how the products are working."},{"id":"breast-implant-capsule-cancers","kind":"term","name":"Squamous cell carcinoma and lymphomas in the capsule around breast implants","route":"/terms/breast-implant-capsule-cancers/","tldr":"Besides the lymphoma linked to textured breast implants, the FDA has received reports of a skin-type cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) and other lymphomas in the scar tissue around implants. It believes they may be rare and does not yet know their cause or how often they happen."},{"id":"breast-implant-illness","kind":"term","name":"Breast implant illness (systemic symptoms with breast implants)","route":"/terms/breast-implant-illness/","tldr":"Some people with breast implants report tiredness, memory problems, rashes and joint pain that they call breast implant illness. The FDA says these symptoms and their cause are poorly understood, and that removal without replacement has been reported to help some people."},{"id":"vacuum-assisted-breast-biopsy","kind":"technology","name":"Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy systems (Mammotome, EnCor, Eviva, Brevera)","route":"/technologies/vacuum-assisted-breast-biopsy/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A breast biopsy needle that uses suction to pull tissue into its side window and cut it, so several larger samples can be taken through one small cut in the skin, guided by mammogram, ultrasound or MRI."},{"id":"stereotactic-breast-biopsy","kind":"technology","name":"Stereotactic and tomosynthesis-guided breast biopsy systems (Affirm, Giotto, Fujifilm positioner)","route":"/technologies/stereotactic-breast-biopsy/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Mammogram machines fitted with a needle guide, which take X-rays from two angles or a 3D scan to work out exactly where a tiny abnormality is, so a biopsy needle can be aimed at something that cannot be felt or seen on ultrasound."},{"id":"breast-lesion-localisation","kind":"technology","name":"Breast lesion localisation markers (wire, magnetic seed, radar reflector, RFID tag)","route":"/technologies/breast-lesion-localisation/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"When a breast cancer is too small to feel, a radiologist places a marker in it before surgery so the surgeon can find it. The marker used to be a fine wire; now it is often a tiny seed or tag that a probe detects during the operation."},{"id":"magnetic-sentinel-node-tracer","kind":"technology","name":"Magnetic tracer for sentinel lymph node biopsy (Magtrace and Sentimag)","route":"/technologies/magnetic-sentinel-node-tracer/","status":"established","tldr":"An iron oxide liquid injected into the breast that travels to the first lymph nodes, where a magnetic probe finds them during surgery. It does the job of the radioactive tracer without radioactivity."},{"id":"prostate-fusion-biopsy-systems","kind":"technology","name":"MRI-ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy systems (UroNav, Artemis, KOELIS Trinity, Mona Lisa)","route":"/technologies/prostate-fusion-biopsy-systems/","status":"established","tldr":"Software that lays the prostate MRI over the live ultrasound picture during a biopsy, so the needle can be aimed at the area the MRI flagged. NICE found too little evidence to recommend it for routine use over the doctor fusing the images by eye."},{"id":"transperineal-prostate-biopsy-devices","kind":"technology","name":"Freehand transperineal prostate biopsy devices (PrecisionPoint and others)","route":"/technologies/transperineal-prostate-biopsy-devices/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Needle guides that let a prostate biopsy be taken through the skin behind the scrotum under local anaesthetic, instead of through the back passage. NICE recommends them as an option."},{"id":"bone-marrow-biopsy-devices","kind":"technology","name":"Powered bone marrow biopsy drivers (OnControl, BD Trek, OmniBone)","route":"/technologies/bone-marrow-biopsy-devices/","status":"established","tldr":"A small battery drill that drives the bone marrow biopsy needle into the hip bone, instead of the doctor twisting it in by hand, used to diagnose and check leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma."},{"id":"image-guided-percutaneous-robots","kind":"technology","name":"CT-guided needle robots and percutaneous navigation (XACT ACE, Epione, MICROMATE, CAS-One IR)","route":"/technologies/image-guided-percutaneous-robots/","status":"emerging","tldr":"Robots and navigation systems that plan the path of a biopsy or ablation needle on a CT scan and then hold, aim or steer the needle along it, to reach small targets in the lung, liver or kidney with fewer adjustments."},{"id":"embolic-microspheres","kind":"technology","name":"Embolic microspheres and hydrogel for tumour embolisation (Embosphere, Bead Block, HydroPearl, Embozene, Easi-Vue, Embrace)","route":"/technologies/embolic-microspheres/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Tiny plastic or gel beads injected through a catheter into the artery feeding a tumour, to block its blood supply. Without a drug they are called bland embolisation; the same beads can carry chemotherapy in some countries."},{"id":"drug-eluting-beads","kind":"technology","name":"Drug-eluting beads for chemoembolisation (DC Bead, LC Bead, HepaSphere, ONCOZENE, CalliSpheres, LifePearl)","route":"/technologies/drug-eluting-beads/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Beads that soak up a chemotherapy drug before they are injected into the liver's arteries, then block the tumour's blood supply and release the drug slowly inside it. In a randomised trial they did not beat the older oil-based method overall, though some groups of patients responded better."},{"id":"tace-delivery-microcatheters","kind":"technology","name":"Microcatheters for tumour embolisation (balloon-occlusion and pressure-enabled delivery)","route":"/technologies/tace-delivery-microcatheters/","status":"emerging","tldr":"Special thin catheters used to deliver beads or chemotherapy into liver arteries. A small balloon or valve at the tip stops material flowing backwards into healthy branches and changes the pressure so more reaches the tumour."},{"id":"indwelling-pleural-catheters","kind":"technology","name":"Indwelling pleural catheters for malignant pleural effusion (PleurX, Rocket, Aspira, Passio)","route":"/technologies/indwelling-pleural-catheters/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A soft tube tunnelled under the skin into the chest, left in place so fluid that keeps building up around the lung can be drained at home, easing breathlessness without repeated hospital visits."},{"id":"indwelling-peritoneal-catheters","kind":"technology","name":"Indwelling peritoneal catheters for malignant ascites (PeritX, Rocket, Aspira, Passio)","route":"/technologies/indwelling-peritoneal-catheters/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"A tube tunnelled into the tummy so fluid that builds up because of cancer can be drained at home in small amounts, instead of coming into hospital for a large drain each time."},{"id":"pleural-and-peritoneal-shunts","kind":"technology","name":"Pleural and peritoneal shunts (Denver shunts, ACES)","route":"/technologies/pleural-and-peritoneal-shunts/","status":"established","tldr":"Tubes placed fully under the skin that move fluid from the chest or abdomen to somewhere the body can absorb it, so there is no drain to empty."},{"id":"self-expanding-metal-stents","kind":"technology","name":"Self-expanding metal stents for malignant obstruction (oesophagus, duodenum, colon, bile duct, airway)","route":"/technologies/self-expanding-metal-stents/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Mesh tubes that spring open inside a gullet, bowel, bile duct or airway narrowed by cancer, to let food, stool, bile or air through again. Most are put in through an endoscope without an operation."},{"id":"ureteric-stents-and-nephrostomy","kind":"technology","name":"Ureteric stents and nephrostomy tubes for malignant ureteric obstruction (Memokath 051)","route":"/technologies/ureteric-stents-and-nephrostomy/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"When cancer in the pelvis blocks the tubes from the kidneys, a stent inside the tube or a drain through the back into the kidney lets urine flow again and protects kidney function."},{"id":"tumour-marker-immunoassay-analysers","kind":"technology","name":"Automated analysers for tumour-marker blood tests (Elecsys, Atellica, Access, VITROS, Lumipulse)","route":"/technologies/tumour-marker-immunoassay-analysers/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"The laboratory machines that measure tumour markers such as PSA, CEA and CA 15-3 in a blood sample. Each test is cleared by the FDA for a named analyser."},{"id":"haematology-analysers","kind":"technology","name":"Haematology analysers and digital blood film and marrow morphology (Sysmex XN, DxH 900, CellaVision, Scopio)","route":"/technologies/haematology-analysers/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"The machines that count blood cells for the full blood count checked before every chemotherapy cycle, and cameras with software that find and sort cells on a blood or bone marrow slide for a specialist to review."},{"id":"digital-pcr-platforms","kind":"technology","name":"Digital PCR and BCR::ABL1 monitoring kits (QXDx, Fastplex, Xpert BCR-ABL Ultra)","route":"/technologies/digital-pcr-platforms/","status":"established","tldr":"Tests that count copies of a cancer gene in a blood sample, used most in chronic myeloid leukaemia to measure how far the BCR::ABL1 signal has fallen on treatment. Digital PCR splits the sample into thousands of droplets and counts the positive ones."},{"id":"m-protein-laboratory-analysers","kind":"technology","name":"M-protein analysers: mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis and free light chain assays (EXENT, Capillarys, Freelite)","route":"/technologies/m-protein-laboratory-analysers/","status":"established","tldr":"The laboratory machines that find and measure the abnormal antibody (M-protein) made by myeloma cells in a blood sample, used to diagnose myeloma and related conditions and to follow treatment."},{"id":"barretts-radiofrequency-ablation","kind":"technology","name":"Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation for Barrett's oesophagus (Barrx HALO)","route":"/technologies/barretts-radiofrequency-ablation/","status":"standard-of-care","tldr":"Heat delivered through an endoscope to burn away the abnormal lining of the gullet in Barrett's oesophagus with dysplasia, the change that can lead to oesophageal adenocarcinoma, so normal lining grows back."},{"id":"cholangioscopy","kind":"technology","name":"Single-operator cholangioscopy (SpyGlass DS)","route":"/technologies/cholangioscopy/","status":"established","tldr":"A very thin camera passed through an endoscope up into the bile duct, so the doctor can look directly at a narrowing and take a targeted biopsy to find out whether it is cancer."},{"id":"automated-breast-ultrasound","kind":"technology","name":"Automated breast ultrasound (Invenia ABUS) and ultrasound tomography (SoftVue)","route":"/technologies/automated-breast-ultrasound/","status":"established","tldr":"A breast ultrasound done by a machine that sweeps the whole breast in a few passes, used alongside mammograms in women with dense breasts. It finds extra cancers but also leads to more call-backs for things that turn out not to be cancer."}]}