Medical e-News Round-Up - Issue 45

This issue covers:

Advanced healthcare to drive Europe's medical device market

The medical device market in Europe is expected to grow over the coming three years, driven by increasingly advanced healthcare and an ageing population, according to a new report.

Reportbuyer's Europe Medical Device Market Outlook to 2018 states that the industry is mainly comprised of equipment such as orthopaedic, dental, respiratory and ophthalmic devices manufactured in Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain. Indeed, Germany was highlighted as a major contributor to the exportation of medical devices between 2008 and 2013, while the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the industry as a whole on the continental bloc was 2.6 per cent.

The report says that demand for medical devices is on the increase because of a need for early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, an ageing population, better informed patients and enhanced technologies. It also explains that rising incidences of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension should further drive the market in the coming years and predicted a CAGR of 3.9 per cent between 2013 and 2018.

This comes after MarketsandMarkets predicted that the portable medical device market will grow at an estimated CAGR of 9.51 per cent from 2014 to 2020, potentially creating further opportunities for exporters. Details at blog.mic-cust.com/

Wearable medical device market growing

The medical device industry is keeping up with a more tech-savvy population by developing technology that is not only mobile but wearable, with companies having devices in development that can sense and measure vital signs and health functions.

With the industry focusing on advancing these devices, the global market for wearable medical devices is projected to reach $5.8 billion in 2019, according to market research retailer ResearchMoz.

As the market for wearable health care devices increases, companies should invest in coding and marking technologies and track and trace solutions that can help brand technology precisely and deliver help protect against counterfeiting.

Wearable medical devices are increasingly being used to help health care professionals monitor patients' heart rates, blood pressure and more. The market for these kinds of portable medical technology is likely to become more valuable as applications expand into sports and fitness as well as home health care.

While wearable medical devices are still relatively new in the medical world, they are on the fast track to growth as major tech companies like Google and Apple enter the market, IDG News Service reported. More at www.videojet.com/

Free IEC 62353 guide

A free guide covering the electrical safety testing requirements of the IEC 62353 international test standard is available from Rigel Medical.

‘An introduction to electrical safety testing in accordance with IEC 62353’ provides an insightful overview on electrical safety, the definitions of a medical electronic device, the IEC 606001 standard and a summary of the IEC 62353 publication including the 2014 additions.

One of the most significant additions to the 2014 edition is the recommendation to test to IEC 62353 at the final production line stage and before equipment goes into service. This will allow recurrent testing to be directly comparable with factory tests, providing easier observation of any variations.

New for the IEC 62353:2014 edition were a number of suggested tests to help manufacturers identify any requirements for isolating a particular equipment leakage current. Advice about this issue is covered in the guide.

Also included is a section on the benefits of the latest range of battery powered electrical safety analysers, which provide a fast and accurate solution for compliance with international and local safety standards. Visit www.rigelmedical.com/IEC62353 to download the guide.

Asian device market set to leap to $15B in 2017

A survey of the top 100 makers of medical devices in Asia indicates the industry will reach the $15 billion mark in 2017, a huge leap from a market of just $2 billion in 2012.

In addition to the top 100, Research and Markets also focused individually on the device markets in India, Japan and South Korea, all three major ones. Japan, in fact, has the second largest in the world, behind only the United States.

As for Asia, the research company said the overall device market was growing by more than 10% a year to meet the demand driven by higher incomes and living standards in several of the leading countries on the continent.

In Japan, the device market is expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 2.9%, its value rising from $30.2 billion just two years ago to $34.9 billion in 2018. South Korea has Asia's third largest market for devices, behind Japan and China, but is expected to expand by a compound rate of 7.7% by 2018, up from $5.1 billion in 2013.

India has one of the globe's 20 largest device markets despite a per capita spending rate of less than $3 for the products. The industry's value has suffered because of the depreciation of the rupee, the national currency, but in actual growth terms is expected to be one of the world's fastest growing over the next 5 years. Read more at www.fiercepharmaasia.com

Make a date

Don’t forget you can catch Rigel at June’s AAMI Conference & Expo 2015 in the USA, and then in the autumn at the MD Expo, Las Vegas (21 - 23 October). The last event of the year will be MEDICA, the world leading medical trade fair, from the 16 – 19 November.

Full details at http://www.rigelmedical.com/events