Archive for November, 2010

Medical Equipment Industry Profile – Boston Scientific

A recent scan of medical equipment news sites generated an interesting profile for one of the world’s top suppliers, Boston Scientific. Actually, it was a business briefing from the Motley Fool that examined the strengths and weaknesses of this worldwide medical equipment manufacturer, but it provided an interesting overview of what is going on with this industry giant.

One of the strengths of Boston Scientific is its innovation in heart devices, which has expanded with their recent purchase of Guidant. However, in this constantly evolving marketplace, the company will need to continue spending heavily on R & D in order to stay ahead of their competitors. Recent advances in medical equipment technology make this industry extraordinarily competitive. A seemingly never-ending corporate restructuring has made the company leaner, but the cost of shedding employees can have a long-term impact on the bottom line.

All in all, Boston Scientific has enough cash – more than $800 million as of the end of Q2 – to continue acquiring other companies for awhile as evidenced by their recent acquisition of Asthmatx, a company that specializes in systems that treat asthma.

As a global leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing medical equipment, Boston Scientific Corporation has about 25,000 employees. In 2009, their total revenue was nearly $8.2 billion. By advancing the practice of minimally invasive medicine, the company has raised the bar for creating new and innovative products, services and technologies for the medical community. Many of their products are designed to provide alternatives to surgical procedures. The company is continuously refining their products to reduce the risk and the trauma of medical treatments. They have been successful in reducing costs by decreasing the amount of time spent in treatment and recovery.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Is a Less Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement the Best Option for Heart Patients?

Medical equipment suppliers have developed another option for heart disease patients who need an aortic valve replacement but are too frail to survive the surgery.  This condition affects thousands of elderly patients who need a safer and more effective option.  By snaking a new aortic valve in through the arteries as opposed to doing open-heart surgery, the chances of survival dramatically increase, especially when a patient’s options are limited.

While still in the early stages of development, it is expected that these implantable devices may become the new standard for younger valve replacement patients who do not want to undergo open heart surgery.

Once this new treatment is approved by the United States FDA, one European company is already poised to begin selling transcatheter aortic valves in the US, but they are already available in Europe.

Like any new medical equipment or technique, these valves are not being billed as “cure-all” and they can be associated with a higher risk of stroke, but they are expected to be a solution for many inoperable patients.  Medical professionals are looking to this type of surgery for other types of heart medicine and they are looked upon as a first step toward transforming geriatric cardiac care.

Nearly 350,000 Americans deal with aortic valve disease, which is essentially a problem with the heart’s main gateway.  It can cause the heart to open and close poorly, which forces the heart to beat faster and harder.  Over 50,000 patients suffering from this disease undergo open-heart surgery for the replacement of this essential artery, yet thousands of others are turned away because they are too fragile to survive an open-heart procedure.

As soon as these new valves are approved for use in the United States, medical equipment manufacturers will undoubtedly be scrambling to win new business.

Technorati Tags: , , ,