Article preview from Medtech Insight - December , 2011
The once staid US cataract surgery market has evolved considerably over the past several years. A trio of conferences this fall provided updates on the latest developments.
Article preview from Medtech Insight - December , 2011
A trio of conferences this fall provided updates on the latest developments in ophthalmic surgery: the XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), held in Vienna in September, the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), held in Orlando in October, and the third annual Ophthalmology Innovation Summit, held just prior to the start of AAO. The latter provided a look at recent regulatory and venture investment trends in the ophthalmology arena. With the first femtosecond (FS) laser for cataract surgery now commercially available and several other systems slated for launch in the coming months, this emerging technology remains the most prominent topic of discussion within the ophthalmic device field.
Laser Cataract: Five Competitors In Competitive Race
The once staid US cataract surgery market has evolved considerably over the past several years, beginning with the 2004 introduction of premium presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) and the landmark 2005 ruling by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that allowed patient-shared billing for these lenses. The premium IOL market continued to see slow but steady growth in 2011, reaching about 15% penetration of US cataract surgery procedures, split roughly equally between toric and presbyopia-correcting IOLs, according to Market Scope LLC. However, this market has been a disappointment for many in this arena, who had predicted a much steeper adoption curve for these devices. As a result, all eyes are now on the FS laser market as the next big opportunity.
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Medtech Insight newsletter provides insights into the technology and market developments (devices, instrumentation, biomaterials, gene therapy, tissue engineering, etc.) impacting a wide range of surgical and non-surgical clinical practices.
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