Medical devices are the devices, equipments, instruments used in medical industries by professional surgeons, medical assistants and doctors for healthcare of patients. Companies in this industry manufacture medical devices, surgical equipments and appliances. The biggest contributor in terms of improvement in medical care, enhanced life expectancy and access to health care is the advanced technology which has improved traditional health care systems and innovated with the increased demand. Medical device industry has produced more than thousands of different devices ranging from smaller scale usage to complex and impossibly difficult procedures; in contribution to intensive monitoring, life-saving therapy, relief of pain and  amelioration of disability.

Modern medical devices are compact and versatile; their broad capability is used in diagnosis or treatments and their durability is superior, they are reliable in performance and convenient in application, for example- a pacemaker weighs 1.5 ounces and it is implantable and programmable as compared to 50 years ago when pacemakers weighed 12 pounds and had to be strapped onto the back of patients. Currently more than 1.5 million different medical devices used worldwide and the demand and requirement keeps increasing every year, according to WHO. The medical devices industry has been a major player in healthcare industry and it continues to grow in employment, revenue and overall betterment of public healthcare.

The multi billion dollars medical devices industry covers a wide spectrum of devices and products that are used for treatments of patients; devices such as cardiovascular devices, dental and medical equipment, diagnostic devices and supplies, ophthalmic and orthopaedic devices, respirators and surgical equipments, along with electro-medical and electrotherapeutic apparatuses, such as magnetic resonance, ultrasound, hearing aids, pacemakers and electrocardiographs are all the most and majorly used devices and equipments. For scientific evaluation and studies, medical therapeutic and diagnostic devices for industrial and research purposes are also manufactured and the global medical devices industry which was valued at $164 billion 2010 is growing rapidly with projected estimation to hit $228 billion by 2015 which is growing at 7% yearly. 

2 . Medical Devices Industry Current Trends

Medical device manufacturers are located worldwide, especially in developed countries but are mainly concentrated in certain demographics known for high-tech industries, such as microelectronics and biotechnology. The medical devices industry is concentrated in the West, specifically North America; this demographic accounts for about 24.2% of industry establishments and more than 25% of total revenue. The global urban populations have grown rapidly, the challenge for developed and developing countries is to extend a level of wealth to the rest of the population in order for healthcare to become affordable as all markets, including health, are per capita driven.

Large companies with wide products range and strong infrastructure are poised for greater returns as their R&D investments, expansions into newer markets and cost-saving strategies are all crucial factors to  withstand the capability and sustain macro-level issues and regulatory pressures. Majority of the manufacturers that invest heavily on R&D, taxes and other expenditures incurred recoup through international sales. Medical device manufacturers always face longer regulatory and approval processes through FDA and other similar administration boards of other countries, but the silver lining in the darker and unpredictable process is the implementation of unique device identifier (UDI) system and according to industry analyses, it is expected to spark several benefits. The challenging environment where there are large numbers of devices and competitors present, the three players, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and St. Jude, with the $6.5 billion implantable cadioverter defibrillator (ICD) market are positioned to gain a huge market share.

3 . Major Players in Medical Devices Industry 

Major players in the global medical devices industry include, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Labs, Medtronic, Baxter, Boston Scientific, GE Healthcare Technologies, Becton Dickinson, St. Jude, Stryker Corporation, Novartis (Alcon), Olympus Medical, CareFusion, Bayer, Fresenius and Philips Healthcare.