[Image from Wikimedia Commons]
The company’s Minor Orthopedic Replacement Implants report said the industry will experience an annual growth rate of over 7%, driven by a higher rate of arthritis and fractures. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are some of the major causes of joint replacement surgery, while failed previous joint replacement surgery can be another cause, the report said.
Shoulder, wrist, ankle and foot joints are part of the minor orthopedic replacement implants included in the report. Shoulder replacements have the largest market share and hold a majority of the market while all four have grown a significant amount recently.
North America was the largest region in the minor orthopedic replacement implant market last year, according to the Minor Orthopedic Replacement Implants report, with more than 60% of the market share. The U.S. was the largest country in the market and had more than half of the market share. The smallest market with a market share of over 1% was South America.
The implants and surgical procedures have seen technological advances over the years that have helped the market grow. Titanium, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum and new materials like polyethylene have started to replace the plastics and ceramics that used to be in implants. Each material has characteristics that improve the longevity of minor joint replacement implants.
According to the analysts, the minor orthopedic replace implant market will continue to see a number of trends as well. The first trend is growing interest in the market as big orthopedic implant manufacturers like Stryker and Medtronic Spine are slowly shifting their resources, training, inventories, clinical studies and research efforts to shoulder, wrist, ankle and foot replacement implants because of uncertainty around regulatory, economic and reimbursement trends.
The market will also continue to see a major trend toward minor joint procedures like small bone plating. Shoulder prostheses and total ankle replacements are on the rise as well. In 2016 alone, 100,000 shoulder arthroplasties were performed whereas 14,000 were performed in 2000.
Regulation will be a major factor in the growth of the minor orthopedic market as well, according to the report. Medical devices have to comply with quality standards outlined by international organizations for standardization (ISO). In the U.S., manufactureres have to submit a premarket notification to market a new device or reintroduce a device.
Regulations and the process of getting a device to market can have an impact on the price of a device. The financial burdens of healthcare budgets in Europe have caused manufacturers to lower the costs of implants, resulting in the privatization of healthcare segments like orthopedics. On the other hand, the U.S. government doesn’t want to get involved with reducing the cost of joint replacement implants, according the the analysts. Because of the lack of intervention, insurance companies are driving the manufacturers to lower the price of devices.
