According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the market for hip and knee reconstruction will be driven by increasing patient acceptance of unicondylar knee implants and resurfacing hip implants that allow for selective bone resection in patients in their 40s and 50s, combined with demand deferred by the poor economy.
Significant attention is being directed to unicondylar knee and resurfacing hip implants, but also new technologies such as MAKO Surgical’s MAKOplasty and ConforMIS’s iTotal CR Knee Replacement system, which uses computer-assisted surgery to develop patient-specific, less invasive device designs.
Such patient-specific technology is a growing trend in large-joint arthroplasty. Larger companies such as Biomet and Stryker are now following suit in an effort to sustain competitiveness. In addition, continued direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns will increase patient awareness of new device designs and minimally invasive surgical techniques, prompting increased patient demand.