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Diana Bradley, Staff Writer | March 16, 2012
From the March 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Arthroscopic advantages
The U.S. arthroscopy device market — a major contributor to the endoscopy market — is also set to experience moderate growth through 2016, according to the Millennium Research Group, Inc.’s November report, “US Markets for Arthroscopy Devices 2012.” The market will double to over $4.2 billion by 2017, adds iData's June 2011 report series on the markets for "U.S. Arthroscopic Devices" and "U.S. Soft-Tissue Repair."
In 2010, knee and shoulder procedures dominated the over 4 million arthroscopies performed in the U.S.; however, the hip arthroscopy segment is the fastest growing, according to the report. Small joint and hip arthroscopy procedure volumes have increased, along with shoulder arthroscopy procedures, says Dr. Simon Moyes, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Wellington Hospital in London.
“I perform a lot of ankle arthroscopy and suspect that instruments designed for accessing the posterior compartment of the ankle joint will evolve as will curved arthroscopic instruments to access the dome of the talus together with the evolution of the radio frequency probe,” he says. “In the hip, I see the evolution of more and more arthroscopic suturing techniques for labral repairs.”
In the U.S., an increasing number of sports-related injuries and advancements will fuel the arthroscopy device market, according to Millenium’s report.
“Certainly more and more people indulging in sports are sustaining sport related injuries and the natural evolution of arthroscopic surgery means more and more arthroscopies are being performed,” says Moyes. “This is also fueled by generally increased longevity of people in the west.”
Moyes cites radio frequency probes (probes which are more powerful and produce fewer bubbles in the joint therefore affording better visibility with less risk of thermal damage) from companies like Mitek; and Smith & Nephew’s platinum, multi-functional blades, as being the hottest commodities of the moment among arthroscopic surgeons.
Within the soft tissue and sports medicine market, companies such as Arthrex, ArthroCare, ConMed Linvatec, DePuy Mitek, Smith & Nephew and Stryker lead the market. Smith & Nephew and Arthrex lead the hip arthroscopy market, while Stryker recently launched its platform in a bid to gain market share in this growing segment.
Endoscopy utilization increases as cancer and obesity rates escalate
The U.S. represents the single largest regional endoscopy market worldwide and the market, along with the number of American citizens, is growing. Demand for gastrointestinal endoscopy is rising, with many turning to gastric bypass and gastric banding to aid in their weight-loss as obesity rates soar.
