Trend of Automation in the Field of Blood Collection, Processing, Managements Devices & Consumables Global Market
Blood, recognized as a vital fluid of human body plays a major role in saving the life of a patient during the life-threatening situations by a procedure called transfusion. But before transfusion, the blood collected from the donor needs to be checked thoroughly to avoid the chances of spreading of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and others, hence different collection, processing devices & consumables are used to analyze the blood samples and then segregate them into different blood components like plasma, platelets, WBC’s and RBC’s to treat the patient lacking in particular blood component or whole blood. Increasingly, management tools are being used that plays a major role in managing the blood supply chain till the point of transfusion. The blood collection, processing, management devices & consumables are mainly used in diagnostics & therapeutic procedures to save the life of a patient and enhance their safety.
In the early days, blood transfusion was carried out without taking any safety measures that would result in mismatch of blood groups, transmission of infectious diseases and other life-threatening complications. Advancements in a new type of transfusion technologies, collection & processing devices used in analysis of blood samples have reduced complications like mismatch in blood group during transfusion, transmission of infectious diseases, trauma and pain caused by repeated needle pricks. The increase in chronic diseases and surgical procedural volumes are the leading factors that have raised the demand for pathogen-free blood and its components thus shifting market players focus more towards research activities, approvals and launch of new products, to innovate new technically advanced collection & processing devices and consumables. For instance, In September 2016, Becton, Dickinson and Company received FDA clearance for its BD Vacutainer Barricor plasma blood collection tube, the next generation blood collection and separation technology designed to improve sample quality, help clinicians to receive test results faster and ultimately improve patient care and clinical efficiency.
In blood collection, processing, management procedures, medical experts and their assistants employ different types of devices and consumables for thorough analysis and diagnosis of infection causing agents like bacteria, virus and other pathogens and then segregating different blood components for treating patient lacking in particular blood component. In recent days, most of the collection & processing devices used are fully automated and are usually operated by trained users where the requirement of human interference is reduced and processing is handled by built-in software interface. The blood processing devices are classified into hematocrit centrifuges, blood grouping analyzers, hematology analyzers, blood cell processors, blood warmers, blood bank refrigerators, blood bank freezers, slide strainers and others.
Technological advancements such as automated blood collection & processing devices, portable blood collection & processing devices, customized blood collection, processing devices & consumables, Hemosep 3-D printed blood collection devices, microfluidic blood collection devices, RFID technology, robotics in blood management are expected to rule the blood collection, processing, management devices & consumables market through their special features.
Automated systems have emerged as a useful tool in the blood collection and processing industry as these devices reduce the total number of steps needed for the processing of whole blood and also it has minimized the total number of operating procedures, the hands on times needed and the amount of equipment too. Among the automated series of devices, next generation systems provide the faster, better & more advanced methods of blood processing and utilize centrifuges for the separation of whole blood into its components. These next generation system also consists of features like touch screen graphical interface for the easy handling of the system.
This market does not have any dominant player various key players like Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Becton, Dickinson & Company (U.S.), Haemonetics Corporation (U.S.), Fresenius Kabi (U.K.), Terumo Corporation (Japan) offer devices and consumables that have similar features without much differentiating features. Hence brand loyalty plays a major role as consumers stick to branded devices and consumables to enhance their strong business position from competitors.. Emerging players of this market includes Hamilton (U.S.), FL Medical (Italy), Beurer GmbH (Germany), Greiner Bio-One (Germany), Vision Scientific (Korea), Magellan (U.S.), LifeScan (U.S.), Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd (Japan), SuZhou Hybiome Biomedical Engineering Co. Ltd (China), Quotient (U.S), Diagast (France), Infomed (Switzerland), Yancheng Cordial Co Ltd (China), Arteriocyte (U.S.), VOGT Medical (Germany), JMS Corporation (U.S.), Innvol Medical Systems (India), Kawasumi Laboratories Inc (Japan).
Major players in blood collection, processing, management devices & consumables market include Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Becton, Dickinson & Company (U.S.), Haemonetics Corporation (U.S.), Grifols International S.A. (Spain), Immucor, Inc. (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), Fresenius Kabi (U.K.), Terumo Corporation (Japan), Macopharma (France), Sysmex Corporation (Japan), ThermoFisher Scientific Corporation (U.S.), Biomerieux (France), Bio-Rad Laboratories (U.S.) and Roche Holdings AG (Switzerland).