Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) Market Report - 2011 Edition

IVUS, which stands for Intravascular Ultrasound, is primarily used to view the coronary arteries from inside, with the help of high frequency sound waves. The primary use of IVUS is during Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or angioplasty, as it provides a better understanding of blocked vessels, which allows for proper selection and placement of stents and other devices to restore blood flow at the site of the blockage. In fact, after stenting, the IVUS procedures are used to determine whether the stent has been placed correctly or not and thereby it helps to place the stent optimally and thereby reducing the need for re-stenosis. The IVUS procedures are generally performed in the catheterization laboratories or cath-labs.

Owing to the benefits provided by the IVUS technology in the medical field, the IVUS market has shown increasing growth in the past years. Despite increase in usage, the IVUS technology is still under penetrated worldwide, one of the main reasons for this being the fact that the reimbursement criteria for the IVUS is not flexible and the insurers do not generally reimburse the IVUS procedures. In Japan, where IVUS reimbursement criteria are flexible, the technology has high penetration rates and IVUS procedures are accompanied with a majority of the PCI procedures. The second largest market for IVUS in terms of usage is the US, followed by Europe. With the introduction of IVUS in the emerging countries, coupled with the increasing consumer income, increasing health awareness among the people and favoring demographics, such countries are expected to drive the IVUS market in coming years.

Low penetration of IVUS into the PCI procedures, increasing PCI and stent procedures, increasing risks of cardiovascular diseases, and ageing population are some of the factors which are likely to be responsible for the growth of IVUS market in future.

One of the major issues in the IVUS industry is its high pricing and lack of reimbursement facilities. This factor, coupled with the need for a cost effective medical treatment, are likely to negatively impact the use of IVUS technology. Also, the IVUS industry is highly regulated. IVUS industry is also facing a possible threat from the introduction of an almost similar procedure, OCT (or Optical Coherence Tomography), which is a medical imaging technique used to view the entire vessel wall. OCT has certain advantages over IVUS, one of the important ones include that OCT can determine the accurate depth of the plaque, whereas IVUS can not.

In association with analyzing the global IVUS market, the current report also discusses the major regional markets, including Japan, US, and Europe. The report delves into the factors impacting the industry. The profiles of Volcano Corporation, Boston Scientific, and Terumo Corporation are also being presented in the report, with a discussion of their business strategies.