U.S. Lags behind China and Europe in Ultrasound-Enabled Tumor Therapy, According to New Report from MedDevice Concepts

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Therapeutic ultrasound revenues exceeded $1 Billion in 2006, and will pass $2 Billion in three years, according to a new report from MedDevice Concepts. Future growth is expected to come from cancer, cardiovascular disease and aesthetic treatment devices.

“HIFU has already shown great promise in the clinic, but we need to understand and improve energy delivery and treatment monitoring for HIFU to become more widely accepted”

Since its beginnings in physical therapy and wound healing, therapeutic ultrasound is evolving rapidly. New applications include non-invasive tumor ablation, sono-thrombolysis and aesthetic sono-contouring, all stimulated by a confluence of technology breakthroughs and new capital investment. Over the past decade, $350 Million of M&A transactions have accelerated clinical acceptance and driven revenue growth.

“Since 2003, $300 Million of new venture capital has been invested in therapeutic ultrasound device startups,” says Al Kyle, MedDevice president. “This large flow of capital is expected to maintain industry revenue growth, making therapeutic ultrasound one the most attractive medical device markets.”

Compared with other directed-energy treatment methods such as laser, radiofrequency, and cryotherapy, therapeutic ultrasound enjoys certain advantages, such as improved patient safety, fewer side effects, shorter hospital stays & recovery times, the report says. Because it is capable of achieving a therapeutic effect using relatively low energy levels, ultrasound is likely to be a player in future markets for targeted drug delivery of gene preparations, conventional and aesthetic medicines.

Approximately 1,000 Americans have been treated with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), compared with nearly 100,000 in the rest of the world, including 50,000 Chinese suffering from benign and malignant tumors, 14,000 Europeans with prostate cancer and 30,000 in 45 countries outside the U.S undergoing non-invasive fat removal, according to the report. Uterine fibroid therapy is the only FDA cleared condition treated by non-invasive HIFU, causing some Americans to seek medical care in Canadian and Latin American clinics. U.S. clinical trials are underway for prostate and pancreatic cancer.

“HIFU has already shown great promise in the clinic, but we need to understand and improve energy delivery and treatment monitoring for HIFU to become more widely accepted” says Gail ter Haar, a researcher at Royal Marsden Hospital.

These market developments are the focus of “Therapeutic Ultrasound Markets," a new report from MedDevice Concepts. The report includes estimates of industry revenues from 2001 to 2011 for all segments, and detailed analysis for twenty-two companies in HIFU, cardiovascular and aesthetic segments, emphasizing technology, financing, clinical and regulatory strategies. For more information, visit our website www.med-device.com.