THIS ISSUE

Drug-eluting stent guidance

The UK’s National Institute for National Health and Clinical Excellence has published its final draft guidance on the use of drug-eluting stents (DESs) for the treatment of coronary artery disease. It recommends DESs for patients who would be at higher risk of needing further stents if a conventional bare-metal stent is used instead. In addition, it states that a DES should only be used if the price difference between it and a bare metal stent is no more than £300. www.nice.org.uk

Increasing commercial opportunities

The demand for pain delivery products that allow patients to play an active role in the timing and dosing of their medication is growing. According to a report by Applied Data, current pain management philosophy is based on treating pain early and aggressively. It is now believed that chronic pain causes physiological release of enzymes that can damage healthy tissue. In addition, there is a growing market of mature and elderly people who need therapies to treat a range of conditions associated with the ageing process. www.applieddata.org

Light and sound detection

An imaging system that uses light and sound could improve the detection and treatment of tumours, diseased blood vessels and other soft tissue conditions. The system uses short pulses of low-energy laser light to stimulate the emission of ultrasonic acoustic waves from the tissue area being examined. These waves are then converted into high resolution 3D images of tissue structure. The technique can be used to reveal disease in types of tissue that are more difficult to image using methods based on X-rays or conventional ultrasound. The prototype system has been developed by experts at University College London, London, UK, with funding from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It is to undergo clinical trials and routine deployment in health care is envisaged within five years. www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/mle/index.htm

Slow growth in medtech prices

“Medical devices prices, on average, have grown at less than half the rate of the overall Consumer Price Index and less than one quarter the rate of other medical goods and services,” according to Stephen J. Ubl, President and Chief Executive Officer of AdvaMed, the advanced medical technology association. This is the finding of the Association’s 15-year study of prices in the United States medical technology sector. In 2004, the latest year studied, spending on medical devices and in vitro diagnostics totalled US$112 billion or 6 % of total US national health expenditure, and it has stayed relatively constant at that proportion for the past 15 years, according to the study. It also found that during this period medical device prices have increased at an annual average rate of only 1.2 % compared with 5 % for the Medical Consumer Price Index and 2.8 % for the Consumer Price Index. www.advamed.org

Online sterilisation standards

A new compilation of standards on sterilisation of health care products is available from ASTM International, the standards development organisation. The online collection gives access to 14 ASTM standards related to ISO 11137, Sterilisation of Health Care Products, Requirements for Validation and Routine Control, Radiation Sterilisation. www.astm.org

Mixed projections for France

The French medical device market will grow at an average annual growth rate of 5.3 % over the next five years, estimates Espicom, and be worth US$9.75 billion by 2012. Some sectors remain underdeveloped. The country still lags behind in the diagnostic imaging sector with only approximately eight magnetic resonance imaging scanners per million population compared with more than 10 per million population in other major European countries. Current regional health development programmes aim to increase provision to 605 units by 2011; this equates to just under 10 per million population, which does not keep pace with expanding demand, according to its Medistat Market Analysis. The market for smaller medical devices is uncertain constrained by reduced reimbursement tariffs and the pricing control system. www.espicom.com