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9/2/2010
Millennium Research Group’s Medtech Confidence Index (MCI) steadily increased for five quarters before reaching a plateau in 2010Q2. The medtech industry had assumed that the worst of the recession was over but in 2010Q2 the MCI fell for the first time since data collection began and now stands at a score of just 1.3 on a scale of +200 to -200. Confidence in the national economy is a major driver of overall MCI and hospital administrators are mindful of recent weak financial data: after a distinct emergence from recession in 2009Q4, the pace of growth in the US is already falling off. This loss of confidence is also reflected in a much less optimistic outlook for procedure volumes (down from 16.0 to 2.3) and is likely to send the overall MCI back into negative values next quarter.
5/12/2010
Despite the economic crisis that restricted facility budgets and caused procedure postponement, US chairside CAD/CAM system and intraoral scanner sales still experienced healthy growth as a result of new product launches, product financing options, and improving technology that produces aesthetically pleasing results and facilitates quicker and easier restorations. Because the chairside CAD/CAM market is so underpenetrated in the US, there is significant potential for current and future competitors. Nevertheless, in the coming years, CAD/CAM vendors will face challenges in the form of the fluctuating economy, system cost, and purchasing trends.
4/29/2010
Millennium Research Group's Q1 2010 Medtech Confidence Index (MCI) stands at 5.7 on its scale of +200 to -200. The MCI score has consistently trended upwards since the study started in Q4 2008; however, growth in the overall MCI and within its various components slowed or dropped compared to Q409.
4/22/2010
Abbott Vascular is setting its sights on domination of the Asia Pacific drug-eluting stent (DES) market, and its recent launches may move the company closer to that goal. The release of XIENCE V in Japan and China signals a shift in competitive dynamics within Asia Pacific. Since its international launch, XIENCE V has emerged as the global market-leading DES platform due to strong performance against other DES in clinical trials, such as SPIRIT IV.
4/9/2010
The US facial injectable market—comprising botulinum toxin (BTX), hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers, particle and polymer fillers (PPF), and collagen fillers—continued to feel the effects of the global economic downturn in 2009. The elective nature of the procedures, combined with high procedure costs and a lack of reimbursement, hindered growth from 2008 to 2009.
3/30/2010
At the recent AAOS meeting in New Orleans, trauma manufacturers showcased their newest offerings. A market that thrives on innovation, trauma fixation continues to grow in waves despite being one of the oldest device markets in the world. In the plate and screw segment, the past decade saw innovations in the form of locking screw technology, anatomic plating systems, and polyaxial plate designs, pushing revenues in that segment to a value of almost $900 million in the US.
3/30/2010
Computed tomography (CT) scanners have been under a great deal of scrutiny recently following suggestions that the systems expose patients to too much radiation. Over the last year, US media outlets reported a number of cases where patients got an overdose of radiation during diagnostic tests, some of which resulted in skin burn and hair loss. The modality that boasts one of the fastest-growing procedure volumes in the diagnostic imaging market, CT scans provide rapid and high-quality images of internal structures based on the absorption of X-rays that pass through different parts of the body, using an array of detectors to capture the image. The systems use more radiation than X-Rays, but have proven popular among physicians as a fast and accurate method for diagnosis. Nevertheless, given the current controversy regarding dosage, system manufacturers are already making changes in both the technology and in the training programs they implement.
3/16/2010
While minimally invasive surgical techniques have long been the driving force behind device development across all therapeutic areas, laparoscopy is one of the first specialties to achieve “invisible scar” surgery. Increasingly in-demand among cosmetically conscious US patients, laparoscopic single-port procedures are growing in volume, and the laparoscopy device manufacturers are racing to develop the best tools for the job.
3/11/2010
Understand differences in procedure volume growth among hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and physician offices..aspx)
3/3/2010
Interventional radiologists (IRs) are increasingly pitted against general care or therapy physicians in the battle for procedure volumes. Unlike an anatomy specialist, such as an obstetrician/gynecologist (Ob/Gyn), IRs do not “own” patients, and are thus not tasked with total patient care; rather, they specialize in techniques and specific image-guided procedures, which they typically perform on referred patients. This process has created friction between IRs and other physicians since IRs receive full reimbursement for their procedures without having to deal with the pre- and post-operative patient care.