Vigor Medical and the EIC Accelerator: A Chest Drain Port

Vigor Medical Technologies, a Haifa company, makes the C-Lant Port, a self-fixating device that creates a sealed channel into the chest or abdomen through which drains and instruments can be inserted. Its EIC project said C-Lant "reduces the procedure time by 20x" and could be used for "any type of chest trauma or postoperative drainage", aiming to "accelerate the clinical validation and scaling-up of C-LANT", according to CORDIS.

The European Innovation Council granted €2,499,875 towards a €3.57 million project from March 2023 to November 2025. The latest public report, to October 2024, says Vigor transferred the device from R&D to production, built nine moulds, made components for over 300 sets for verification testing, set up an ISO 13485 quality system, and prepared a clinical trial for CE approval at three sites in the Czech Republic and Israel. On 27 February 2026 the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the C-Lant Port through the 510(k) route, according to the FDA database. Vigor describes the cleared use as "a single-use access system providing a port of entry into the abdominal and thoracic cavities in endoscopic procedures", on its news page.

Where Vigor Stands Now

Vigor presented a usability study of the C-Lant Port at the European Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery in April 2026 and at a NATO medical innovation workshop in September 2026, and now also markets a veterinary version, according to its news page. It received ISO 13485 certification in May 2025. It has not announced a CE mark, a European sale or a distribution deal, and no final EIC report has been published.

The Device: A Port Instead of a Stitched Tube

Chest tubes are invasive procedures that first responders cannot perform in the field, and even in hospital complications such as misplacement, dislodgement and leakage occur in 20-40% of cases, the report says. C-Lant adjusts itself to the chest wall, limits how deep it goes into the cavity, and holds any size of tube in a sealed channel. Vigor argues this could let paramedics act within the "golden hour" after chest injury.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The project promised clinical validation and scale-up. The published reports stop in October 2024, before the planned CE clinical trial and a usability study with 15 doctors and 15 paramedics. The usability study has since been presented; the trial's results have not. The FDA clearance covers an endoscopic access port, not the field trauma use at the centre of the EIC pitch. CORDIS lists the project as closed.

1. Transfer to productionDeliveredMoulds, QMS, 300 sets.
2. US regulatory clearanceDelivered510(k), Feb 2026.
3. CE clinical trialUnverifiedNo results public.
4. Field trauma useUnverifiedNot in cleared use.

The Money

The report mentions a new EU subsidiary set up to support commercialisation. No equity round has been announced. Its revenue, and how it will fund a European launch after the grant, are not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

A device that makes chest drains faster and safer would matter for trauma care and military medicine in Europe as well as Israel. The EIC paid for its industrialisation, and the first market clearance came in the United States for a hospital use.

The Verdict

Vigor Medical Technologies and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.