Digital Device Market to Break $100B

Annual global sales of high-tech digital medical devices will total more than $100 billion next year, according to a report by Research in China, making the sector one of the fastest-growing worldwide industries. The United States, Europe and Japan were the top three players in 2008, making up 78 percent of the market, the report said. China sales comprised about 5 percent of the market.

Additionally, the overall global medical device market size declined 0.4 percentage points to $206.59 billion in 2008, the report indicated. That figure, however, still represents a rise of 6 percent compared with 2007.

According to the report, economic growth drives the expansion of market scale in emerging markets such as China and India. Comparatively, market growth in developed countries focuses on new technology and new product development.

China, which is investing heavily in healthcare infrastructure, is expected to experience an annual healthcare spending growth rate of 11 percent through 2012. Medical equipment is the largest category in China’s medical device market, followed by orthopedic and prosthetic devices, the report said.

In the medical device industry, growth is being driven by an aging population and better living standards, which in turn, stimulates investment, the report said.

The high-tech medical device market has several large players, including GE Healthcare, Siemens, Toshiba and Philips Healthcare, according to the report.

A copy of the report is available at www.researchinchina.com.