Intracranial endovascular procedures will grow at over 5% through 2014 in the US, says MRG

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, intracranial endovascular procedures to treat aneurysms will grow at over 5% through 2014 in the US. MRG's new US Markets for Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices 2010 report finds that technological advancements in embolization coils as well as imaging and coiling-assist technology will continue to drive growth in aneurysm coiling procedures. Aneurysm coiling procedure growth will, however, be mitigated by the adoption of liquid embolics and the entry of new flow diverting devices over the next five years.

An intracranial aneurysm is characterized by the weakening and distension of a blood vessel wall within the skull, which, if ruptured, can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke. These aneurysms are commonly treated by surgical clipping or by filling the aneurysm with embolic coils to occlude blood flow. A growing patient demand for minimally invasive alternatives, combined with the lack of effectiveness of embolization coils in wide-neck aneurysms, has spurred innovation in intracranial aneurysm treatment device market. For example, ev3's Onyx HD 500 -- a liquid embolic -- has humanitarian device exemption approval from the FDA to treat wide-neck intracranial aneurysms. Intracranial coiling procedures will also be challenged by flow diverting devices beginning in 2012 following the expected US launch of ev3's Pipeline Embolization Device.

"Flow diverting devices are designed to alter blood flow and to induce aneurysm occlusion without filling the aneurysm with embolic agents," says James Kurz, Analyst at MRG. "Such endovascular devices may offer advantages over 'aneurysm-filling' therapies, including a reduced risk of aneurysm perforation and the ability to better treat wide-necked aneurysms. Once the Pipeline Embolization Device is launched in the US in late 2011 or early 2012, it will make ev3 the only competitor to offer embolization coils, liquid embolics, and flow diverters for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms."

MRG's new report, US Markets for Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices 2010, provides critical insight into emerging trends that will fuel market growth for embolization coils, interventional neuroradiology coiling-assist devices, embolization particles, liquid embolics, and transcatheter embolization and occlusion accessory devices through 2014. The report provides a complete breakdown of unit sales, average selling prices, and revenues by device type and by segment. Additionally, this report includes five-year forecasts, up-to-date market shares, and in-depth qualitative insights.