Our analysts evaluate clinical trial data, along with information regarding safety issues, coverage policies from the private and public sectors, regulatory approvals, consensus statements, and an overall projection of the potential clinical efficacy and economic impact of the technology. Reports are reviewed annually up to 5 years post publication to determine if there is new literature or evidence that would impact a change in rating and warrant an updated report.
Purpose of Technology
The staged approached to sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is a potential treatment alternative for patients with severe fecal incontinence (FI) who have tried other therapies but failed to find relief. SNS involves the implantation of an electrode among the sacral nerves that is then connected to an external pulse generator to facilitate a tempora…
Purpose of Technology
The purpose of total pancreatectomy is to relieve severe, debilitating symptoms in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) who have not responded adequately to conservative therapy. However, removal of the entire pancreas stops insulin production, leading to diabetes and lifelong insulin therapy. At the time of pancreatectomy, islet cells can be…
Purpose of Technology
Autologous stem cell therapy for treatment of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the hip involves deriving stem cells from a patient’s own bone marrow or peripheral blood and transplanting them to the necrotic femoral head. Autologous stem cells may be processed and enriched in various ways, and transplantation may occur either surgically, intravenousl…
Purpose of Technology
Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) is gradually replacing conventional screen-film mammography (SFM), which had been the predominant technique for breast cancer screening of asymptomatic women. With digital mammography, images o…
Purpose of Technology
Cryoablation, also known as cryosurgery or cryotherapy, is the technique of destroying cells using subfreezing temperatures. Cryoablation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is usually performed by an interventional radiologist t…
Purpose of Technology
Magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound (MRI-TRUS) fusion-guided biopsy uses software to combine detailed images obtained from an MRI with the less detailed real-time TRUS, through an overlaid 3-dimensional view. These “fused” images guide the placement of the biopsy needle to suspicious lesions identified from the MRI for prostate…
Purpose of Technology
Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke involves the use of minimally invasive devices such as stent retrievers that are inserted into the femoral artery in the groin and advanced to the site of the blockage in a cerebral artery. The thrombectomy device is then activated or deployed to disrupt, push aside, or capture and retrieve the c…
Purpose of Technology
For intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT), a single high dose of radiation is given to the tumor bed at the time of breast-conserving surgery in patients with early-stage breast cancer, which has not spread beyond the breast or lymph nodes in the armpit of the affected side. IORT is an alternative to several weeks of postoperative external-beam rad…
Purpose of Technology
Hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) has been proposed as an alternative to total hip replacement (THR) for the treatment of young (age ≤ 65 years), active patients who have radiographic evidence of joint damage and/or chronic pain o…
Purpose of Technology
Sonohysterography (SHG) is a diagnostic imaging technique used to evaluate the uterus and endometrial cavity for uterine fibroids (i.e., submucosal myomas), endometrial polyps, and intrauterine abnormalities. It is primarily used …