Safety, Expanded Applications Driving MIS Market Growth
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| Encision’s Serino: Looking forward to growth in 2006. |
Despite its relative maturity, the minimally invasive surgical (MIS) instrument market should continue to experience mid- to high-single-digit growth in 2006 and beyond. Driving forces behind growth, according to Jack Serino, president and chief executive officer of laparoscopic instrument maker Encision Inc. (Boulder, CO), will be an increased emphasis on patient safety, as well as improved ergonomics of instruments and an expansion of surgical applications for laparoscopic products.
The MIS device market, including laparoscopes, laparoscopic instruments, and handheld instruments, is expected to see sustained annual growth of more than 5% through 2009. Total projected revenue in 2005 was greater than $575 million, with revenue in 2006 expected to climb to well over $600 million.1
In addition to its maturity as a market, the MIS arena faces a variety of challenges, including price erosion, instrumentation limitations, and reimbursement issues. New products in the market must demonstrate their benefits and cost-effectiveness before being adopted. Yet despite these limitations, certain MIS procedures, such as bariatric surgery and urological laparoscopic procedures, have shown promising growth in recent years.1
Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery has also emerged in the past few years as an attractive option, providing both the clinical advantages of MIS procedures and the maneuverability and tactile feedback of open surgery. The Lap Disc, marketed by Ethicon Endo-Surgery (Cincinnati), a Johnson & Johnson company, enjoys a large percentage of this growing market. Smith & Nephew (London) and Applied Medical (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) offer other products in this area.
Though dominated by several large players, some smaller companies, such as Encision, are finding success in the MIS market with specialty instruments. Encision manufactures surgical instruments featuring its patented active electrode monitoring (AEM) technology. The instruments contain protective shields designed to prevent stray burns during MIS surgery. Serino says his company expects to see annual revenue growth of about 20% in the coming years, far surpassing expectations for the segment as a whole. He attributes this anticipated growth to the safety element of the AEM technology.
In 2005, President Bush signed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act, which encourages medical personnel to voluntarily report medical errors, serious adverse events, and their underlying causes for inclusion in a patient safety network of databases.
“We are pleased that Congress has passed this legislation to help remove the veil of silence surrounding surgical and medical injuries that can be prevented by patient safety solutions like active electrode monitoring,” says Serino. “As the incidence of stray energy burns, which may currently be widely underreported, becomes better understood, we expect that the decision to adopt AEM technology in operating rooms will become more compelling.”
MX is committed to regularly providing its readers with information about competitive market strengths for medtech companies and their technologies. In its January/February issue, MX explores the forces and issues driving a wide range of medtech sectors in 2006 and the years to come. To read expanded versions of these market analyses, including coverage of the cardiovascular, orthopedic, in vitro diagnostics, imaging, information technologies, and ablation markets, visit the MX Web site at www.devicelink.com/mx.
Reference
1. U.S. Minimally Invasive Surgery Instruments and Laparoscopes Markets (San Antonio, TX: Frost & Sullivan, 2003).
© 2006 Canon Communications LLC
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