REPORT SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
MICROELECTRONIC MEDICAL IMPLANTS
The first and still best-known type of microelectronic medical implant (MMI) is the pacemaker, introduced over 45 years ago. Assisting people with weak or failing hearts to live longer, fuller lives has continued to be a major focus of medical implant R&D. The pacemaker has been followed by a variety of other implantable cardiac devices, including defibrillators, loop recorders, heart assists, and even heart replacements.
Neurostimulators—implantable devices that employ the same principles as pacemakers for the purposes of neural stimulation—have also been introduced. Neurostimulators were used initially for pain relief, but are now being used for other neurological indications ranging from the treatment of urge incontinence to preventing epileptic seizures.
Other therapeutic implantable devices have followed, including bone growth stimulators, drug infusion pumps, ear implants that provide a semblance of hearing for the deaf, and new middle ear implants. Eye implants that can restore limited vision to people with certain types of blindness were recently approved for use in some markets.
STUDY BACKGROUND
The microelectronic implant industry has come a long way since the first heart pacemakers appeared on the market in the 1970s. Some products such as neurostimulators have evolved directly from the pacemaker. Other devices, such implantable drug infusion pumps, would have been impossible without the development of increasingly sophisticated sensors-on-a-chip and the miniaturization of mechanical parts and circuitry.
Despite these advances, the product cycle in this industry lags considerably behind the available technology due to the lengthy nature of the clinical testing and approval process for new medical devices. As a result, new products often leapfrog their predecessors in terms of features and capabilities.
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Thus, this report is both a survey of products in the marketplace and a preview of things to come. The goal of the report is to examine market opportunities for the microelectronic medical implant industry and the technologies that make possible the more advanced products that are rapidly coming into being.
Specific objectives of the report include analyzing:
- Major implant types and applications, both commercial and developmental.
- Global market size and segmentation, including historical data on sales by application and implant type.
- Market drivers and constraints.
- Detailed market projections through 2016.
- Industry structure, competition and market shares.
- Factors that may influence the long-term market for microelectronic implants.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The report has been written for the entire medical and healthcare interest community, but is tailored especially for readers with an interest in the marketing and management dimensions of microelectronic implants, such as:
- Manufacturers and distributors of patient monitoring devices.
- Regulators and health insurers.
- Investors.
- The financial and analyst community.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This report covers microelectronic devices designed to operate within the human body, including:
- Pacemakers.
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).
- Implantable loop recorders.
- Ventricular assist blood pumps.
- Artificial hearts.
- Neurostimulator devices used to combat pain, or to treat epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and incontinence.
- Spinal fusion stimulators.
- Implanted drug infusion pumps.
- Implanted monitoring devices.
- Cochlear implants to treat the profoundly deaf.
- Retinal implants being developed to treat the blind.
The scope of the report also includes implant-related accessories and supplies, such as batteries and leads. However, the report does not directly cover ancillary devices that function outside the body, such as external telemetry devices and power sources. These are covered in this report only to the extent that is necessary to maintain coherence.
The market projections also do not include the cost of surgical procedures used to insert the devices.
The report covers the entire global market for microelectronic implants. In some segments there is a greater focus on the U.S. market due to greater data availability, but in such cases the global implications of developments in the United States are also analyzed.
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from manufacturers and distributors of microelectronic implants, hospitals, doctors, and other end users. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and online databases to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.
The base year for analysis and projection is 2010. In cases for which year-end data for 2010 are not available, figures were extrapolated from 2009 demand statistics and historical trends.
With 2010 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2011 through 2016. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and an analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the section on Detailed Market Projections.
All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2010 constant dollars.
ANALYST CREDENTIALS
The author of this report is Andrew McWilliams. Mr. McWilliams, a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm 43rd Parallel LLC, is the author of several other BCC Research studies of the healthcare and related industries, including BIO072A − Biotechnologies for Medical Applications: Global Markets; HLC072A − Medical Lasers: Technologies and Global Markets; HLC014D − Telemedicine: Opportunities for Medical and Electronic Providers; HLC082A − Emerging Markets for Advanced Medical Technologies; HLC070A − Preventive Healthcare Technologies, Products, and Markets; HLC066A − Medical Automation Technologies, Products and Markets; HLC036C − Medical Robotics and Computer-Assisted Surgery; HLC051E − The Market for Minimally Invasive Medical Devices; HLC038C − Patient Monitoring; HLC054B − Home Medical Equipment: Technologies and Global Markets; and HLC048C − Healthcare Information Technology.
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DISCLAIMER
The information developed in this report is intended to be as reliable as possible at the time of publication and of a professional nature. This information does not constitute managerial, legal, or accounting advice; nor should it serve as a corporate policy guide, laboratory manual, or an endorsement of any product, as much of the information is speculative in nature. The authors assume no responsibility for any loss or damage that might result from reliance on the reported information or its use.
