Opportunities ahead for patient monitoring vendors

The shift in U.S healthcare towards minimally and noninvasive techniques in the hemodynamic and neurological segments of the market represents a trend on the rise, according to a new report put out by Toronto-based Millennium Research Group. This trend, coupled with the ongoing drive to slash hospital costs, should generate double-digit annual market growth in these segments over the next five years. Good news for patient monitoring vendors marketing into this space, not to mention patients on the receiving end.

The opportunity stems from the fact that critical care areas of hospitals usually represent a substantial expense, driven by high staff-to-patient ratios and the frequent testing requirements of the patients involved.

Naturally, the need to control hospital costs is a strong driver of the noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring market, which centers around the mechanics of blood circulation Traditional approaches to hemodynamic monitoring are extremely expensive, requiring catheter insertions that could only be performed by skilled physicians. What’s so great about minimally invasive and noninvasive devices—aside from the fact that they’re easier to use—is that many can be placed by nurses. Critical care nurses, by the way, say the most important characteristic in a patient monitor is ease-of-use.

So, these less invasive technologies will allow for the monitoring of large patient volumes while holding staffing costs in check, a dynamic duo that should spawn the popularity of such hemodynamic monitoring techniques through 2013.

The report, entitled “US Markets for Critical Care Patient Monitoring 2008,” also pegs significant opportunities for growth among neurological advanced monitoring technologies, thanks to their ability to indicate complications and potential problems well in advance of cerebral swelling. Because advanced neurological monitoring evaluates brain oxygenation, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and metabolic waste products, clinicians could use advanced neurological monitoring to detect suboptimal neural function at the earliest stages. Capturing suboptimal neural function early enables physicians and nurses to manage a patient’s neurological condition, hopefully preventing more serious brain damage.

Edwards Lifesciences, GE Healthcare, Hospira, Integra LifeSciences, LiDCO, Philips Healthcare, Somanetics, and Spacelabs Healthcare are among those industry competitors addressed in the report, which is available for a fee at http://www.MRG.net.