Trend towards the Use of Flexible Endoscopes Set to Drive the Endoscopy Devices Global Market

Endoscopy is a type of minimally invasive surgical procedure used to visualize and repair the damaged or diseased organs. This technique is used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes by inserting a specialized instrument called endoscope through a small incision made near the surgical site, which consists of light source and camera attached at the end to facilitate the visualization of the organ either by scope or through wireless monitors. Endoscopy devices are used to evaluate reasons for the cause of bleeding, pain and swelling of a particular organ, to remove tumors & abnormal growths and to retrieve tissue samples for the purpose of biopsy and cancer screening & staging. With the significant development in medical sciences, the number of deaths due to various types of infectious diseases has drastically reduced, thus increasing the longevity of population and change in lifestyle activities have increased the non-infectious and metabolic disorders. According to WHO, the global population of over 60 years is estimated to increase from 12% of overall population in 2015 to about 22% by 2050 increasing the number of people with some form of orthopedic, neurovascular, urological diseases, which also includes various other kinds of nephrology, gastroenterology and gynaecology related diseases requiring early diagnosis and treatment. This projected increase in the old aged patient population provides an opportunity for endoscopy companies specialized in the treatment of various diseases to come up with effective diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using endoscopes.

Endoscopic procedures are more advantageous when compared to other procedures due to reduced trauma, less hospital stay, enhanced patient safety, fewer scars and quick post-operative recovery period aiding adoption. Endoscopy devices applications are classified into laparoscopy, urology, neurology, arthroscopy, gastrointestinal, gynaecology/obstetrics, ENT, pulmonary and other budding segments like dental and ophthalmology. Among these applications, laparoscopy is the procedure used to visualize and repair the regions of the abdomen, female reproductive organs & urinary related organs. The demand for effective therapy that delivers satisfactory results yet costing less, combined with advancements in technology such as 3D endoscopic systems, endoscopic ultrasound imaging and HD systems are driving the growth of endoscopy devices global market.

In endoscopic procedures, surgeons employ endoscopes, a tube-like instrument attached to the light source and camera at the end to help surgeons in evaluating the interior organs and to find reasons for the cause of the disease. These endoscopes are classified into rigid endoscopes, flexible endoscopes, robot-assisted endoscopes and capsule endoscopes. There are many companies offering endoscopes and endoscopic equipment for diagnosis & treatment of diseases within the small incisions. Flexible endoscopes are the endoscopes that are used in the all most all the applications due to its flexibility and its unique ability to reach cavities and viscera not visible to the naked eye. Some of the flexible endoscopes include Entity XL & SDXL LED NasoView Nasopharyngoscope, OES PRO, COBRA VISION and T-FLEX and Capsule Endoscopes is the fastest growing segment in endoscopy market. Some of the capsule endoscopes available include EC-10, MAJ-2027, PillCam, PillCam SB and PillCam ESO.

In the early days, various types of diseases were treated using different types of major surgeries like open heart surgeries, but advancements in a new type of technologies and adoption of minimally invasive surgeries have reduced hospital stays, less number of stitches and reduced pain. Increased use of endoscopic devices in both diagnostic and therapeutic procedure is the main factor that has led to a demand for technologically advanced products thus more focus on research activities, approvals and product launches. For instance, the endoscopy division of Fujifilm Medical systems has launched a new high-resolution double-balloon endoscope, EN-580T featuring a larger working channel, and advanced visualization technologies with redesigned and repositioned balloon air feed inlet. With this product launch, Fujifilm expands its GI portfolio.

In coming years, technological advancements such as introduction of ultrathin endoscopes (as thin as hair strands), tadpole endoscopes similar to capsule endoscopes for early diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases, the tubes of this endoscopes are developed using 3D-printing technology, robotic endoscopes which automatically performs surgery on its own depending on the guidance of the surgeons, thus reducing the burdens of the doctors and enhancing the accuracy of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The major players operating in the endoscopy devices global market include Johnson & Johnson (U.S.), Olympus Corporation (Japan), Medtronic plc (U.K.), Boston Scientific Corporation (U.S.), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), Smith & Nephew (U.K.), Karl Storz (Germany), Hoya Corporation (Japan), Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (Japan), and B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany).

Some of the emerging and start-ups market players of the endoscopy devices global market include Richard Wolf GmbH (Germany), Cook Medical (U.S.), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (U.S.), WiSAP Medical Technology (Germany), Endo-Technik (Germany), American Medical Endoscopy (U.S.), Ambu (Denmark), Cogentrix Medical (U.S.), Biotek (U.S.).

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